A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But 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 technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to communication habits.
