Government Official States Ministry of Defence Investigating Potential Threat from Chinese Cars, as Personnel Instructed to Refrain from Confidential Discussions in Vehicles.
An defence official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.