An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark 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 bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
