An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
