A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
