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An defence minister has stated that the MoD is currently examining the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.

Safety Advice for Defence Staff

During a recent appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.

He explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in all contemporary cars.

We have a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.

However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.

When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”

Broader Defence Background

The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause chaos to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.

The wider security environment underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in every aspects of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.