A defense official has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently looking into the potential threats posed by Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been advised to refrain from discussing secret matters in all vehicles.
Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel
In a recently aired appearance on LBC, a defence minister commented on claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified information while riding in China-made vehicles.
He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but emphasised that safety is a concern in every modern cars.
Our department has a collection of thousands of cars in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a very small number.
However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, due to the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and reasonable thing for everyone worried about safety.
When it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: ‘That’s precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”
Broader Defence Context
The announcement comes as reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could enable the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.
Additionally, a Russian spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “extremely risky” act by government representatives.
This wider defence situation underscores the significance of robust protocols and vigilance in all areas of official operations, including transport use to communication habits.
