A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, from vehicle use to discussions habits.
