An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The broader security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
