A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
