A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
