An defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
