A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles 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 staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
