A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But whether 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 vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
