An defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
