A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader security situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
