A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
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 vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
