An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, from transport use to communication habits.
