Minister Says MoD Examining Potential Threat from Vehicles from China, as Staff Instructed to Avoid Confidential Discussions in Cars.
A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Staff
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The wider defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of official operations, including transport use to communication practices.
