An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
