An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, from transport use to discussions practices.
