A defense official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to communication habits.
