An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
