A defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to 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 are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
This broader security situation underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
