An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
