A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, while personnel have been instructed to avoid talking about classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Advice for Defence Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret information while travelling in Chinese vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.
We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have conversations at a secret level in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Background
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause chaos to public transit.
Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.
The wider security environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all aspects of official operations, from transport use to discussions practices.
