A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He explained that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
We have a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Background
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of government operations, including vehicle usage to communication practices.
