An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to communication practices.
