A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
