An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
