A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication practices.
