🔗 Share this article

An defence minister has stated that the MoD is actively examining the potential threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while staff have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in all vehicles.

Security Advice for MoD Personnel

In a recent interview on LBC, Luke Pollard addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.

He explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.

We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.

However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”

Wider Defence Context

The revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.

Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.

The wider security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.