An defense official has stated that the MoD is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
