A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently looking into the potential security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and staff have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any vehicles.
Safety Guidance for Defence Staff
In a recent appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been told not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, but noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.
However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of eavesdropping that are present in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about security.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using all cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Security Context
The revelation comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable public transport and bring disruption to transport systems.
Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly shining lasers at RAF aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” action by government representatives.
The broader defence environment highlights the importance of strong measures and caution in every areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.
