A defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
