A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones 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 to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, from transport use to discussions habits.
