An defense minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in all cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, from vehicle usage to communication practices.
