A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones 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 staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
