An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.
