A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
