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A defence official has stated that the MoD is currently examining the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, while staff have been told to refrain from discussing secret matters in all cars.

Safety Advice for Defence Personnel

During a recent interview on a radio station, Luke Pollard commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made cars.

He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a issue in every contemporary cars.

Our department has a collection 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 car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.

When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Security Background

This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.

This broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication practices.