A defense official has stated that the MoD is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.
