An defence official has confirmed that the MoD is actively looking into the possible threats posed by Chinese vehicles, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from discussing classified matters in all vehicles.
Safety Advice for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been told not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese cars.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of car, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone concerned about security.
After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and bring chaos to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This broader defence situation highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in all areas of official operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.
