An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
