An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
