A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles 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 people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
