A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, from transport use to communication practices.
