A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
