A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to communication habits.
