A defence official has stated that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.
