An defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in any cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if 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 car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Wider Defence Context
This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
