An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
