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A defense minister has stated that the Ministry of Defence is actively looking into the possible threats associated with Chinese-made vehicles, and staff have been told to avoid talking about classified matters in all cars.

Safety Guidance for Defence Personnel

In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that MoD officials have been instructed not to discuss classified material while riding in China-made vehicles.

The minister stated that the ministry is “investigating” cars from China within its fleets, but emphasised that security is a issue in all modern cars.

We have a collection of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones represent a tiny fraction.

But regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, due to the increasing threats of eavesdropping that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about security.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the ministry to cease using all cars from China, Pollard responded: ‘That’s exactly what we are looking into at the present time.”

Broader Security Context

The revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the United Kingdom to the existence of dual-use shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow the Chinese government to disable buses and bring disruption to transport systems.

Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing lasers at RAF pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.

This wider defence environment highlights the significance of robust measures and vigilance in every areas of government activities, including vehicle use to communication habits.