An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official activities, from transport usage to discussions practices.
