An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
