An defence official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to avoid discussing classified information in all vehicles.
Security Guidance for MoD Staff
During a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to talk about classified information while travelling in China-made cars.
He said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, but noted that safety is a issue in all contemporary cars.
Our department has a fleet of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.
But regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any car, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential conversations in protected areas. This is a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”
Wider Security Context
The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at RAF aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.
The broader security situation highlights the importance of strong measures and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including vehicle use to discussions habits.
