A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens 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 car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
