A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to communication practices.
