An defense official has confirmed that the MoD is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese cars, and personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Security Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
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 conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him 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.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to switch off public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government operations, including transport use to communication practices.
