A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
