Minister States MoD Investigating Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, with Staff Told to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including transport use to communication habits.
