An defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader defence situation underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
