A defense official has stated that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
