A defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard replied: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader defence environment underscores the significance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official activities, from transport use to discussions habits.
