A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, from transport use to communication practices.
