An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about secret information in all cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones 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 staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
