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An defence minister has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence is currently examining the potential security risks associated with Chinese vehicles, and personnel have been told to avoid discussing classified information in any cars.

Safety Advice for Defence Personnel

During a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister addressed claims that Ministry of Defence staff have been told not to discuss classified material while riding in Chinese cars.

The minister said that the ministry is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a concern in all modern vehicles.

Our department has a fleet of tens of thousands of vehicles in the Ministry of Defence and those vehicles represent a tiny fraction.

However regardless of if you’re traveling in a vehicle from China or a non-Chinese car, our instruction to our staff is to avoid connecting MoD devices into their vehicle, to avoid having conversations at a classified level in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of eavesdropping that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those confidential talks in protected areas. This is a wise and sensible thing for everyone concerned about safety.

After it was suggested that it would be wise for the ministry to cease using every Chinese vehicles, the minister responded: That is exactly what we’re investigating at the present time.”

Broader Defence Background

The announcement follows reports from Norway and Denmark have alerted the United Kingdom to the presence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese buses, which could allow China to switch off buses and bring chaos to public transit.

Additionally, a Russian spy ship has been shining laser beams at Royal Air Force pilots, labeled a “highly dangerous” action by defence officials.

This broader defence environment highlights the importance of robust measures and caution in every aspects of official operations, including transport usage to discussions practices.