A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
