An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
