An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
