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A defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in all cars.

Security Guidance for MoD Staff

In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on claims that Ministry of Defence officials have been told not to discuss secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.

He stated that the MoD is “looking into” cars from China within its vehicle pools, but noted that security is a concern in all modern vehicles.

We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a very small number.

However whether you’re traveling in a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their vehicle, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing threats of surveillance that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in protected areas. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for everyone worried about security.

After it was put to him that it would be wise for the MoD to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Defence Context

The announcement follows reports from Scandinavian countries have warned the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.

This wider security environment highlights the importance of robust protocols and caution in every areas of government activities, including transport usage to communication practices.