A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every areas of official activities, including vehicle use to communication practices.
