An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But 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, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
