A defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, Pollard replied: That is precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation follows reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader security environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
