A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles 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 staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
