An defence minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
The wider security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of official operations, from transport use to discussions habits.
