A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause chaos 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 defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
