A defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport use to communication habits.
