A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The broader security situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including transport use to communication habits.
