An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise 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
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government activities, from transport use to communication habits.
