A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.
