A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
