A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence environment highlights the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of government operations, from transport usage to communication practices.
