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An defense minister has revealed that the Ministry of Defence is actively investigating the possible security risks associated with Chinese-made cars, and personnel have been told to refrain from talking about classified matters in all vehicles.

Safety Guidance for Defence Staff

In a recently aired interview on a radio station, a defence minister addressed reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to discuss secret information while riding in Chinese cars.

The minister explained that the MoD is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that security is a concern in every modern vehicles.

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

However whether you’re driving a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is not to plug MoD devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret level in any car, because of the growing risks of surveillance that are present in all automobile, to only have those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a prudent and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be wise for the MoD to stop using every cars from China, Pollard replied: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the moment.”

Broader Defence Background

This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese-made buses, which could allow the Chinese government to switch off public transport and bring disruption to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been directing lasers at Royal Air Force aircrew, described as a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.

The broader security situation highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every aspects of official activities, including vehicle usage to communication practices.