A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider defence situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.