A defense official has stated that the MoD is actively looking into the possible security risks posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the ministry is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and Chinese ones represent a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their vehicle, not to have discussions at a classified classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in every single automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.
Additionally, a Russian intelligence vessel has been shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
This broader defence situation underscores the importance of strong protocols and caution in all aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication habits.
