A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow 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, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
