A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while travelling in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however stressed that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations 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 ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, from transport use to communication practices.
