An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
