A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
