A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
