An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, from transport usage to discussions practices.
