An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader defence environment underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
