An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
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 Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader defence situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official operations, from transport use to communication practices.
