An defense minister has stated that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
