A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
