A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, from transport use to discussions practices.
