A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport use to communication habits.
