Government Official States MoD Investigating Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Advised to Refrain from Secret Talk in Vehicles.
An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including transport use to communication habits.
