A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to discuss classified information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He explained that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that security is a concern in all contemporary vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
However 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 secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing risks of surveillance that exist in all vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using all cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.
This broader security environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport usage to discussions habits.
