A defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all areas of government activities, from transport use to discussions habits.
