A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication practices.
