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A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing secret matters in all cars.

Security Guidance for MoD Staff

In a recently aired interview on LBC, Luke Pollard commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.

The minister said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that security is a issue in all modern cars.

Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.

However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about security.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”

Wider Defence Context

This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.

This wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle usage to discussions habits.