An defence official has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, from vehicle use to discussions habits.
