A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
