An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
