An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Security Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD staff have been told not to discuss secret information while riding in China-made cars.
He said that the MoD is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any kind of car, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
The revelation 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 allow China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in every aspects of government activities, including transport usage to communication practices.