A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
