A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but stressed that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of government operations, including transport use to discussions practices.
