A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But 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 MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, from vehicle usage to communication practices.
