A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for 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 to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
