Minister States Ministry of Defence Investigating Security Risk from Vehicles from China, with Staff Instructed to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
A defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, from transport use to communication habits.
