An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
