An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
The minister explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a issue in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This broader security situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.
