A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
