An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car 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 conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to communication practices.
