A defense official has stated that the MoD is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
