An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, from transport use to discussions habits.
