A defence official has stated that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed 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 MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to communication habits.