An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid talking about secret information in any cars.
Security 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 discuss classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of government operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
