A defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in all cars.
Safety Advice for Defence Personnel
In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He said that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however stressed that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD technology into their car, not to have conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
This revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
The wider security situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
