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An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats associated with Chinese vehicles, and staff have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in all vehicles.

Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel

In a recently aired appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.

He stated that the ministry is “examining” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in every modern vehicles.

Our department has a collection of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a tiny fraction.

However regardless of if you’re driving a vehicle from China 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 conversations at a classified level in any vehicle, because of the growing threats of surveillance that are present in every single vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in secure locations. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.

When it was put to him that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every cars from China, the minister replied: That is precisely what we’re investigating at the moment.”

Broader Defence Context

The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the UK to the existence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could enable the Chinese government to switch off buses and cause disruption to transport systems.

Additionally, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.

This wider defence situation underscores the significance of strong protocols and vigilance in all areas of official activities, including transport use to communication habits.