An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified level in any car, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence environment highlights the significance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official activities, from transport usage to communication practices.
