A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
