An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
