A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of official operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
