A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
