New Visas Restrictions to Stem China Influence
India recently blocked dozens of popular Chinese mobile applications including TikTok and changed rules to limit Chinese investments in Indian companies.
The move came as China moved thousands of troops, artillery guns and tanks to the LAC area on the Indo Tibetan Border after 20 Indian soldiers were attacked and killed by PLA. In the clash on June15 an unknown number of Chinese soldiers were also killed killed.
India having decided to decouple economically and socially from China is stepping up its curbs on Chinese activity in the country, adding extra scrutiny for visas and reviewing Beijing’s links with local universities. As the Chinese are adamant and refuse to negotiate the Indian Tibetan Border, relations between the two nations continue to nose-dive.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has been instructed by the Government of India that visas for Chinese businessmen, academics, industry experts, and advocacy groups will need prior security clearance. The measures are similar to those that have long been employed with Pakistan, India’s neighbour and arch-rival, they said.
The activities of India universities with tie-ups to Chinese institutions are likely to be drastically scaled down, one official said. The government is reviewing 54 memoranda of understanding signed between educational institutions including the Indian Institutes of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and others with links to the official Chinese language training office, known as Hanban, which runs Confucius Institutes across the world.
With the exception of Mandarin language courses, tie-ups with Chinese institutions are likely to be discontinued, the officials said. The institutions are used to influence policy makers, think tanks, political parties, corporates and academics, they said.
India’s Foreign Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“These and other steps that have been taken over the last few weeks are designed to decrease Indian over-dependence on China and reduce the exposure or vulnerability of various sectors to direct and indirect Chinese state influence,” said Tanvi Madan, senior fellow at the Washington-based Brookings Institute and the author of “Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped US-India Relations during the Cold War.” New Delhi should “assess the ramification both in terms of potential retaliation from Beijing and Indian ability to withstand that,” Madan said.
The U.S. and Australia have taken similar steps to limit China’s influence.
The Trump administration is increasing scrutiny of Confucius Institutes that teach Chinese language and culture in the U.S. and other nations. It looks set to force them to register as “foreign missions,” subjecting them to certain requirements.
Australia in 2018 passed tough laws to crack down on foreign interference due to alarm over unrest on campuses and the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on student bodies. Last year it drew up new guidelines for universities collaborating on research with China.
India, Australia and the U.S. have also blocked Huawei Technologies Co. from participating in 5G networks. Those countries, along with Japan, form the diplomatic and strategic forum known as the Quad.
For the first time this year, all Quad members will engage in a military exchange when India invites Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercise that has so far included only Japan and the U.S.
