Minister States Ministry of Defence Examining Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, as Staff Instructed to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
