Government Official Says Ministry of Defence Investigating Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, with Personnel Advised to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport use to communication practices.
