A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including transport usage to communication habits.
