A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
