An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, from transport usage to discussions practices.
