A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader security situation highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
