An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
