An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of government operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.
