A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence 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 has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official activities, from vehicle use to discussions habits.
