An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.
