An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
