An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader security situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
