A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
