An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, from transport usage to communication habits.
