A defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles 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 Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, from vehicle use to discussions practices.
