A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet 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 people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government operations, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
