A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, from transport usage to communication practices.
