A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
