A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned 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 is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
