A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
