A defence official has stated that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
