A defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
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 car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
