A defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, from transport use to communication practices.
