An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
