An defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to communication habits.