A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider security environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official operations, from vehicle usage to discussions habits.
