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A defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential security risks posed by Chinese cars, and personnel have been told to avoid talking about secret matters in all cars.

Safety Guidance for MoD Personnel

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

The minister explained that the MoD is “looking into” Chinese vehicles within its vehicle pools, however stressed that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.

We have a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a tiny fraction.

But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, what we’ve asked our people is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence technology into their car, to avoid having discussions at a classified classification in any car, because of the growing risks of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those secret talks in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone concerned about security.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, the minister responded: That is exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Security Context

This revelation comes as claims from Scandinavian countries have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could enable China to disable public transport and cause disruption to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russia spy ship was reportedly directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by defence officials.

The wider defence situation highlights the importance of strong protocols and vigilance in every areas of government operations, from vehicle use to communication habits.