An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
