An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
