An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However 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, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
