A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet 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 car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
