A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But 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 MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
