An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
