An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But 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, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
