A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to communication habits.
