An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
