A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
