An defence official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
