A defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been told to avoid discussing secret information in all cars.
Security Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This broader defence situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, from transport use to discussions practices.
