A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
