A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows claims 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 disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
