An defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in any cars.
Security Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made cars.
He stated that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but noted that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of official activities, from vehicle usage to communication habits.
