An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
