A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
