A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
