A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, from vehicle use to communication practices.
