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A defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is actively investigating the possible threats associated with Chinese-made cars, while staff have been instructed to refrain from talking about classified information in any vehicles.

Security Guidance for MoD Staff

In a recent interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that MoD staff have been instructed not to talk about secret information while riding in China-made vehicles.

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

Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of cars in the MoD and Chinese ones account for a very small number.

But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a car from another country, our instruction to our people is not to plug MoD technology into their vehicle, not to have conversations at a secret level in any car, due to the increasing risks of surveillance that exist in all automobile, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone worried about security.

After it was suggested that it would be prudent for the MoD to cease using all Chinese vehicles, the minister replied: ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating at the moment.”

Wider Defence Context

This announcement follows claims from Scandinavian countries have alerted the UK to the presence of dual-use kill switches in Chinese-made buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and cause disruption to public transit.

Additionally, a Russia intelligence vessel has been directing laser beams at RAF aircrew, labeled a “extremely risky” action by defence officials.

This broader defence environment underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in all areas of official activities, including vehicle use to discussions habits.