A defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, from transport usage to discussions practices.
