An defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official activities, from transport use to discussions practices.
