An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in Chinese cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, from transport use to communication practices.
