An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD 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, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, from vehicle use to communication habits.
