A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government activities, including transport use to communication practices.
