A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified information in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
