A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
During 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 material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
