An defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
