A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.
