A defence official has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles 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 non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
