A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
