A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
