An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.
