An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary 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 driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to communication habits.
