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A defense official has revealed that the MoD is currently investigating the potential threats posed by Chinese cars, while personnel have been instructed to refrain from talking about secret information in any cars.

Safety Advice for Defence Staff

In a recent appearance on a radio station, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence staff have been instructed not to talk about secret material while travelling in China-made vehicles.

He explained that the ministry is “examining” cars from China within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in every contemporary vehicles.

Our department has a fleet of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles account for a very small number.

However 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 devices into their car, not to have discussions at a secret level in any car, due to the increasing risks of eavesdropping that exist in every single vehicle, to restrict those secret talks in protected areas. That’s a wise and reasonable thing for anyone concerned about safety.

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

Broader Security Context

This revelation comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose kill switches in Chinese-made electric buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring disruption to transport systems.

Furthermore, a Russian spy ship was reportedly shining laser beams at Royal Air Force aircrew, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.

The broader defence situation underscores the importance of robust protocols and caution in every aspects of official activities, from vehicle use to discussions practices.