An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
