An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, from vehicle use to communication practices.
