An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
