An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving 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 car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
