Government Official States MoD Looking at Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Staff Told to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, from vehicle use to discussions habits.
