An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
