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An defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.

Security Advice for Defence Personnel

During a recently aired interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret material while riding in Chinese cars.

He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.

Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.

But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and reasonable 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, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Defence Background

The announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.

The wider defence environment underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.