An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
