Four applications from the Chinese online retailer Alibaba were also blacklisted, the AP agency reported. The move comes a month after India banned dozens of Chinese technology companies’ apps, including the popular TikTok short video app and the PUBG video game. The Indian authorities have stated that the application is used for theft and fraudulent transmission of user data to servers outside India. Beijing then sharply opposed the ban.
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The ban on Chinese mobile applications is being pushed by the leaders of the ruling nationalist Hindu Indian People’s Party (BJP), Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to them, this is a way to face the growing Chinese influence.
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The latest dispute between the two countries comes at a time when tensions are growing over their common border. China and India together have a 3,500-kilometer-long border in the Himalayas and have a protracted territorial dispute in places where there is no mutually recognized border line. In mid-June, the conflict in the mountainous region of Ladakh resulted in a clash in which 20 Indian soldiers died. It was the first fatal clash between these Asian nuclear powers in 45 years.
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The two sides held several rounds of talks between military and diplomatic officials to de-escalate the situation. However, tensions persist in the Himalayas.
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