A day after India banned 59 apps with Chinese links, China expressed concern over the move and said that it was “verifying the situation”.
China is strongly concerned, verifying the situation,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Tuesday, in response to India’s decision, ANI reported.
“We want to stress that the Chinese government always asks Chinese businesses to abide by international and local laws-regulations. The Indian government has a responsibility to uphold the legal rights of international investors including Chinese one,” he added.
#FMsays China will not be intimidated by the US attempts to obstruct it advancing the #HongKong national security legislation, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, adding the country will take necessary countermeasures in response to the sanctions the #US announced. pic.twitter.com/rIzdV3qXxC
— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) June 30, 2020
India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, saying that they were “engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order”.
The list of apps that have been banned also includes Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner, SHAREit, WeChat, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call – Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.
The decision came close on the heels of ongoing border tension between India and China that escalated on June 15 when 20 Indian Army personnel were martyred after violent clashes with Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control in Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh.
Apps That Posed Threat To Sovereignty And Integrity Of India
In a statement, the Information Technology Ministry said it has received many complaints from various sources, including several reports about the misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India”.
“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, asserting that the move will “safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users”.
The ministry said that it decided to disallow the usage of the apps after taking note of growing public concerns on aspects relating to data security and privacy.
