A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all aspects of official operations, from vehicle usage to communication practices.