A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in all cars.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister explained that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a concern in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any car, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, from transport usage to communication practices.
