A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.
