An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but 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 very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of government operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
