An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of government operations, from transport use to discussions habits.
