A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However whether 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, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
