An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret matters in any cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
