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A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified information in all vehicles.

Security Advice for MoD Personnel

During a recent appearance on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.

The minister said that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.

We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.

However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.

When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”

Wider Security Context

The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.

Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.

The wider security environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including transport use to communication practices.