An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider defence situation underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, from transport usage to communication practices.