An defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official activities, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
