An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in 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, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
