An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement 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 disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
