An defence official has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles 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, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
