A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
