An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
