An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has 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 traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to communication habits.
