An defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
