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India bans more Chinese apps amid border row

September 2, 2020

After blacklisting TikTok, India has now banned the mobile version of the popular game PUBG, citing security concerns. Indian officials have been cracking down on Chinese apps following a deadly border clash.

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Indian anti-China protests
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/R. Maqbool

India has banned more Chinese apps on Wednesday, accusing them of undermining India's security amid an ongoing row over the disputed Himalayan border between the two neighboring nations. 

New Delhi said that it had barred as many as 118 mostly Chinese apps, which include services provided by China internet giant Tencent and the popular online game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, also known as PUBG. 

A statement by the country’s Information Technology Ministry said they promoted activities that were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of state and public order." 

"This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," the Indian government said. 

India already banned 59 apps at the end of June, including video-sharing platform TIkTok, social media app WeChat and Weibo, China’s equivalent of the US micro-blogging site Twitter. 

In July, the country banned 47 more Chinese mobile applications that cloned the previously restricted apps. 

Read more: TikTok, WeChat & Co: How does spyware get into smartphones?

Military tensions

The crackdown follows  a deadly border clash in the Ladakh region between Chinese and Indian troops, which saw at least 20 Indian soldiers lose their lives. 

China also suffered casualties during the flare-up but has not given any figures.  

The two countries fought a border war in 1962. Both have each accused the other of trying to cross their unofficial frontier in the Ladakh region to gain territory. 

Diplomatic and military talks to bring an end to the crisis have so far been unsuccessful.

jf/tj (AFP, AP, Reuters)