An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
