An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, from transport use to discussions habits.
