A defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
