A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a concern in all modern cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
