A defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while travelling in Chinese cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified classification in any car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Background
The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
