A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
