An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet 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, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
