An defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions habits.
