A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
