A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But 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 MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, from transport usage to discussions habits.
