A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however emphasised that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Defence Background
The announcement follows claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, from transport usage to discussions habits.
