An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
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 technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government activities, from transport use to communication habits.
