A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
