A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider defence situation highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
