A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations 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 wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
