A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
