A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
