An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, from transport usage to discussions habits.
