UK warns troops not to discuss military information in fleet vehicles over Chinese spying fears

British troops have been ordered not to discuss any sensitive military information in vehicles over fears the Chinese are snooping on their conversations, Report informs via Daily Mail.

Warnings have been stuck to the dashboards of hundreds of official vehicles used in the UK and overseas.

These cars and vans belonging to the so-called 'white fleet' are used to move troops and equipment to exercises around military bases and for support roles.

Defence officials acted on the advice of the security services over the threat of spying by China on military vehicles.

The sticker warnings say: 'MOD devices are NOT to be connected to vehicle' and 'Avoid conversations above OFFICIAL within the vehicle'. The word 'official' refers to the level of security concerns regarding information.

In 2023, a Chinese tracking device was found sealed inside a UK government car thought to have been used by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak, prompting national security concerns.

Following the discovery, several new security initiatives came in. Staff working for ministers have been vetted for links to Russia and China, while a Cabinet review advised ministers to disconnect Chinese-made devices from core computer networks. The MoD has already banned Chinese electric vehicles from sensitive military sites.

Concerns have grown that Beijing has launched a global operation targeting official vehicles equipped with Chinese-produced software, such as GPS devices and electric engines.

According to recent figures, the MoD has 745 electric vehicles and 1,414 hybrid vehicles in its white fleet.

Yesterday, Tory defence spokesman Mark Francois said: 'At last some parts of our Government are taking the threat of Chinese espionage seriously.

'We could also learn from the US which has much tougher restrictions on Chinese vehicles and components. In this day and age, careless talk definitely costs lives.'

A spokesman for the MoD said: 'As the public would expect, we have security advice in place to protect our systems and information.

This includes ensuring that official devices are not connected to cars and that staff only have conversations at the appropriate classification.

'This policy applies to all MoD civilian hire vehicles, not just electric ones.'