An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
