By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, June 29: The Government of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Monday announced ban on 59 Chinese Apps including the popular Tik Tok and We Chat, amid ongoing military standoff at the LAC in Ladakh near the Indo-Tibet border.
The ministry in a statement earlier today said that the Chinese Apps are banned “in view of information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.
The list of banned Apps includes the popular Tik Tok, UC browser, Shareit and Wechat, an app used by considerable exile Tibetans that is known to be used as a surveillance tool by China in Tibet.
The ministry added that certain Chinese Apps have raised concerns over safety of data and user privacy leading to calls to take strict action against Apps that harm India’s sovereignty as well as the privacy of our citizens.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, has sent an exhaustive recommendation for blocking these malicious apps. “The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures,” the statement said.
The move comes a day before the third round of Corps Commander-level talks scheduled on Tuesday at 10:30 am in Chushul in Ladakh.Observers say that India’s latest move against Chinese interest in India is part of the economic backlash that many in the country have been advocating. #BoycottChinesegoods has been trending on social media Apps since the last few weeks following a violent clash where more that 20 Indian soldiers died and unspecified number of casualty on the Chinese side were reported.
China is India’s second biggest trade partner with the United States narrowly surpassing China. According to the data of the commerce ministry, in 2018-19, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 87.95 billion while commerce with China stood at USD 87.07 billion.
3 Responses
There’s a saying; Leaders lead. When it comes to pushing back at China, India is leading like a world superpower…. their retaliations are quick and calculated to hurt. I feel India has gained a lot of confidence from this conflict.
Why has it taken India so long to ban these apps when it has been known that they are used by the Chinese military. Locking the gate after the horse has already bolted
Boycott Chinese products.