A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
