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An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively examining the possible security risks posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been advised to avoid discussing secret information in any cars.

Security Advice for MoD Staff

In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.

He stated that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however emphasised that security is a concern in every contemporary vehicles.

Our department has a collection of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.

However whether you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any car, due to the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential conversations 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 wise for the ministry to stop using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”

Broader Defence Context

This revelation follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable public transport and cause disruption to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” action by government representatives.

The wider security situation underscores the importance of strong measures and caution in all aspects of government activities, including vehicle use to discussions practices.