A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
