piefed.eePoland Considers Ban on Chinese-Made Cars Entering Its Military Bases
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-20/pola…
cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/45983024
- Poland may ban Chinese-made cars from entering military facilities to protect its security, according to Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk.
- The country’s defense establishment has been exchanging information on the risks posed by cars “heavily equipped with electronics” as it considers restricting their access.
- Tomczyk said it’s “a fact” that the cars could be used for surveillance, amid heightened expert scrutiny of the issue and a report warning about espionage risks posed by the vehicles.
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Warsaw has repeatedly blamed Moscow for a series of hybrid attacks on its territory.
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SAIC Motor Corp.’s MG brand, Chery Automobile Co.’s models and BYD Co. led sales in Poland among Chinese auto manufacturers.
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Tomczyk’s words come after heightened expert scrutiny of the issue. In December, the Center for Eastern Studies, a Warsaw-based think tank, published a report warning about espionage risks posed by the vehicles.
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Asked whether he’s worried the cars would be used for surveillance, Tomczyk said “it’s not a possibility we need to be worried about — it’s a fact.”
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Everyone is so worried about the Chinese cars spying on them but they never make a sound about American and European cars spying on them. At least the Chinese cars are affordable.
I mean that makes sense considering how many cameras those foreign cars have, China forbid Teslas in many places because of the same thinking. Poland should extend the ban to all foreign adversary countries incl. And especially the US.
Not only cameras but Lidarr which can be used to create 3d maps.
You can do 3d mapping just from any old video camera pretty easily these days.
Sure, but China poses an immediate security threat for now. As the article says, Russia is responsible for a series of hybrid attacks such as arsons in Poland (and its allies around the globe), and as China is a decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine it’s not far-fetched that Beijing will also support Russia in its hybrid war against Europe and the rest of the Western world.
Should ban American cars as well.
I didn’t know why we’re still having this discussion. If it were really about security, they’d just legislate standards for limited data collection and connectivity options, assign fines for violations, and verify compliance. If we’re really at the point where Chinese engineers can design tech western engineers can’t reverse engineer or understand, we’re in way deeper trouble than bans will solve.
But by doing that, they’d have to put the same restrictions on manufacturers from “friendly” countries, and that’s unacceptable given lobbying.
It’s strictly protectionism and it’s disgusting.