A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication practices.
