An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
