An defence official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle use to communication practices.