A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows 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 buses and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The broader security situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.
