An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
