A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
