A defense official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, from transport usage to communication practices.
