An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
