A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official operations, from transport usage to communication practices.
