A defense minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel
During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about classified material while travelling in China-made cars.
The minister stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a issue in every modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.
But whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the growing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the present time.”
Broader Defence Context
This announcement comes as reports from Scandinavian countries have alerted the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.
This wider security situation highlights the importance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of official activities, including transport use to discussions practices.
