A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.
