A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
