A defence official has revealed that the MoD is currently examining the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Security Advice for Defence Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in Chinese vehicles.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Wider Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport use to communication habits.
