An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
