An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
