A defense official has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
