A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that security is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the significance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to communication habits.