An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of official activities, from vehicle use to communication habits.
