An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
