A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
