A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including transport use to communication practices.
