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A defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.

Security Advice for MoD Personnel

In a recently aired appearance on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.

He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.

We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.

But whether you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.

When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Wider Defence Context

This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring chaos to transport systems.

Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.

This wider security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.