Minister Says Ministry of Defence Examining Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Instructed to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Cars.
An defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government operations, from transport use to communication habits.
