An defense official has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, and staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister said that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Background
The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
