A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, from vehicle use to communication practices.
