A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
