A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent 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 people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle use to communication habits.
