A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official operations, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
