Minister Says MoD Investigating Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Staff Instructed to Avoid Secret Talk in Vehicles.
A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
