An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, from transport usage to communication practices.
