A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to communication habits.
