An defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
