An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for 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 not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official activities, from vehicle use to communication practices.
