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An defense minister has revealed that the MoD is actively examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified information in all cars.

Security Advice for Defence Personnel

In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made vehicles.

The minister said that the MoD is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, but stressed that safety is a concern in every modern cars.

Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.

But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”

Wider Security Background

The announcement comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.

This wider defence situation underscores the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions practices.