A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of official operations, from transport use to communication habits.
