A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
