An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
