A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, from transport use to communication practices.
