Minister Confirms Ministry of Defence Investigating Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, with Personnel Advised to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
