A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
