An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
