An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official activities, from vehicle use to communication habits.
