An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
