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An defense minister has confirmed that the MoD is currently examining the possible threats posed by Chinese-made vehicles, and personnel have been advised to avoid talking about classified matters in any cars.

Safety Advice for MoD Staff

In a recently aired interview on LBC, a defence minister commented on reports that Ministry of Defence officials have been instructed not to talk about secret material while riding in China-made vehicles.

He explained that the MoD is “investigating” Chinese vehicles within its fleets, however noted that safety is a issue in all modern vehicles.

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

But regardless of if you’re driving a Chinese car or a non-Chinese car, what we’ve asked our staff is to avoid connecting Ministry of Defence devices into their car, to avoid having discussions at a secret classification in any kind of vehicle, because of the increasing risks of surveillance that are present in all vehicle, to restrict those secret conversations in secure locations. That’s a wise and sensible thing for anyone worried about safety.

After it was put to him that it would be prudent for the ministry to stop using every Chinese vehicles, Pollard responded: ‘That’s precisely what we are looking into at the moment.”

Broader Security Context

The announcement comes as claims from Norway and Denmark have warned the UK to the existence of multi-purpose shutdown mechanisms in Chinese electric buses, which could allow China to disable buses and bring chaos to public transit.

Furthermore, a Russia spy ship has been shining lasers at RAF pilots, described as a “highly dangerous” act by government representatives.

This broader defence situation underscores the significance of strong measures and vigilance in all aspects of government activities, from transport usage to communication habits.