A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The wider defence environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
