A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to discussions practices.
