A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
