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A defence minister has revealed that the MoD is actively investigating the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, while staff have been instructed to refrain from discussing secret information in any vehicles.

Safety Advice for MoD Personnel

During a recent interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in Chinese vehicles.

He explained that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but stressed that security is a issue in every modern vehicles.

We have a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.

But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our people is not to plug Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a secret classification in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to only have those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone concerned about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the present time.”

Wider Defence Context

The revelation follows claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable China to disable buses and cause disruption to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing laser beams at RAF pilots, labeled a “extremely risky” act by defence officials.

This wider security environment highlights the significance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of official operations, including transport use to discussions habits.