A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
