A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries 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 bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, from transport usage to communication habits.
