An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
