A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
