An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
