Government Official Says MoD Investigating Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, with Personnel Told to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.