A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
