A defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader security situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of official activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
