A defence minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any cars.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in Chinese cars.
The minister stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in every contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
However regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. This is a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Background
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to switch off public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
This wider security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and vigilance in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
