An defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security situation underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
