A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.