An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, from transport usage to communication habits.
