An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the significance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, from transport usage to communication habits.
