An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
