A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But 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 car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
