A defence official has stated that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries 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 cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, from transport use to discussions habits.
