A defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
He explained that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader security situation highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of official activities, from transport use to discussions habits.
