A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection 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 vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication practices.
