(TibetanReview.net, Nov25’20) – In an indication that Sino-India ties are only deteriorating in view of their volatile border situation especially in the Ladakh sector, India has on Nov 24 blocked 43 more mostly Chinese mobile apps, citing activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. The move brought to 220 the number of Chinese mobile apps banned by India since June this year.
China has refused to accept the reason provided by India for the latest ban. “China firmly opposes Indian side’s repeated use of ‘national security’ as an excuse to prohibit mobile Apps with Chinese background. Hope India provides fair, impartial and non-discriminatory business environment for all market players and rectify discriminatory practices,” the ndtv.com Nov 25 quoted said Ji Rong, Chinese government spokesperson, as saying.
“China and India are the opportunities of development to each other rather than threats. Both sides should bring bilateral economic and trade relations back to the right path for mutual benefits and win-win results on the basis of dialogue and negotiation,” Ji was quoted as saying Nov 25.
While announcing the ban, the government of India was reported to have said in a statement that it was “committed to protect the interests of citizens and sovereignty and integrity of India on all fronts and it shall take all possible steps to ensure that.”
India announced a ban on a first set of 59 Chinese mobile apps in June. They included the wildly popular video platform TikTok and the addictive shooting game PUBG.
This was followed by the announcement of ban on 118 more Chinese mobile apps in September.
The latest ban includes Alibaba Workbench, AliExpress, Alipay Cashier, CamCard and WeDate. Most of the apps on the list are social media and dating applications.
