An defence minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid discussing classified matters in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.
We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”
Broader Security Context
The announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.
The broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, from vehicle usage to discussions practices.
