A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of official activities, from transport use to discussions habits.
