An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a issue in all modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including transport usage to discussions habits.
