A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader defence situation highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
