An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, from transport usage to discussions practices.
