A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, from vehicle usage to discussions habits.
