A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet 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 non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government activities, from vehicle use to communication habits.
