A defence official has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance 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 China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
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, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of government activities, including transport usage to discussions practices.
