In this July 5, 2006 file photo, a Chinese soldier, left, and an Indian soldier put into place a barbed wire fence removed temporarily for Chinese officials to cross back to their country after a meeting with their Indian counterparts. (AP)
India-China Border News Live Update: The Corps Commanders of the Indian and Chinese armies are holding a meeting at the Chushul border point as part of efforts to de-escalate the situation on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, PTI reported. This is the third meeting between XIV Corps Commander Lt General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang Military Region Commander Major General Liu Lin. They are meeting at the border point in Chushul — the June 6 and June 22 meetings were held at Moldo on the Chinese side.
PM Modi Speech Today LIVE Updates
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the nation on the current standoff with China at 4 pm today. His address will come two days after his monthly Mann ki Baat radio programme, during which he had reiterated the country’s commitment to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Meanwhile, a day after the Centre’s ban on 59 mobile apps, TikTok on Tuesday said it is in the process of complying with the government’s order on blocking of the app, and asserted that it has not shared information of Indian users with any foreign government, including that of China. China, too, reacted while saying it was “verifying the situation”.
The government on Monday banned popular app TikTok among others.
The Shiv Sena today said people were fed up of the war of words between the BJP and Congress over the border standoff with China, and the government should focus on handling the row with the neighbouring country and the coronavirus crisis. An editorial in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said that "China has been adamant and will never change", and the need is to forget the past, tackle the fresh crisis and create a new future for the country. Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's comments that the country will win the 'twin 'wars' against Covid-19 and the border row with China under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the Sena said, "The government should focus on these two battles and not on the opposition party. There is no need to be rattled by questions raised by the opposition party."
TikTok has been taken down from Apple App store and also Google Play store. For users who have the TikTok app download can still use the app and post videos but officially the platform is now banned in the country. It must be noted that if you have the app installed on your phone you will still be able to see it on Google Play store. Once you uninstall it the TikTok app will not be visible.
The IT Ministry today issued an order to Google and Apple to ban 59 applications from their stores in tune with the Centre’s latest decision over security concerns, a spokesperson told The Indian Express. However, internet service providers such as Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone said they have not received any order from the government to ban these applications, sources said.
Reacting to New Delhi's ban on the Chinese apps, Beijing today said it was "strongly concerned and was verifying the situation", Reuters reported.
Taking a swipe at the Modi government over its decision to ban Chinese apps, former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said: "It is good that the Modi government is protecting the privacy of 130 crore Indians by banning 59 Chinese apps. The NaMo app also violates privacy of Indians by accessing 22 data points, surreptitiously changing the privacy settings and sending data to third party companies in US. #BanNaMoApp."
As TikTok grew in popularity in India and other markets, the app also drew a lot of criticism, mainly from the lawmakers. Several controversies rocked the social media app in the market. In 2018, TikTok was banned in Indonesia for containing “pornography, inappropriate content and blasphemy”. Though the ban on the app was later lifted, TikTok had already come under the radar of Indonesia authorities for “inappropriate content.” In the same year, a 24-year old Chennai man allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train after being mocked for wearing women’s clothes on the app. Click here to read more.
The Punjab government will check on the “involvement” of China in an Indian firm selected to deliver smartphones to be given to youths as part of the Congress’ poll promise before taking a final call on whether or not to proceed with it, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said. His statement came soon after he asked the central government to return donations by Chinese firms into the PM CARES Fund. Amarinder said his government has placed an order with an Indian company (LAVA). The firm had informed the government hat 50,000 smartphones were ready and that they wanted to deliver another 50,000 more phones in July. “We will check what is China’s involvement in this company and to what extent and then make a decision. What is the equity situation (in the company)? Is it Chinese equity or Indian ?” Amarinder said in reply to a specific query during a pres conference here.
In his latest column ‘Diplomacy after Galwan’, C Rajamohan, director, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, and contributing editor on international affairs for The Indian Express, evaluates how the ongoing stand-off between India and China will play out. He states that while there is “a general consensus in Delhi that the Galwan encounter has produced a discontinuity in India’s China policy”, skeptics point out that structural constraints would limit dramatic changes in policy once the heat of the moment dissipates. Rajamohan argues that “the potential direction of the Sino-Indian relationship is likely to depend on how the current military confrontation in Ladakh is resolved”. In his view, “if it ends with a quick return to the status quo that prevailed in April, (the Sino-India policy) inertia is likely to limit radical policy departures”. If, on the other hand, “the Ladakh crisis ends in a setback for India, the pressure on Delhi to radically reorient its China policy will mount”.
Taking a swipe at the Modi government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "Facts don’t lie. BJP says: Make in India. BJP does: Buy from China."
Citing the “emergent nature of threats” from mobile applications, including popular ones of Chinese origin such as TikTok, ShareIt, UCBrowser, Club Factory and CamScanner, the Centre Monday banned 59 apps based on information that they were engaged in activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity”, defence, security and public order. “The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources, including several reports about 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 government said in a statement on Monday.
A day after the Centre banned popular Chinese apps, TikTok on Tuesday issued a statement which said: "We have been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications. TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government."
Expressing solidarity with the people of India, a top US senator has said India had made it clear that it would not be bullied by Beijing, PTI reported. Republican Senator Marco Rubio spoke with India's ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, to "express our solidarity with the people of #India as they firmly confront unwarranted and lawless armed aggression by the Communist Party of China". "India has made it clear, they will not be bullied by Beijing," the senator from Florida tweeted. On the Senate Floor, Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for the second time in less than a week, accused China of aggression against India. A day earlier, Senator Tom Cotton slammed China for its aggression against India. "China has resumed its submarine intrusions in the Japanese contiguous zones and picked deadly fights with India at high altitude," the top Republican Senator had said.
Army sources pointed to a “trust deficit” between the two sides following the Galwan Valley clashes in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed on June 15. Chinese troops, sources said, have continued to build infrastructure near Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley, and have also made incursions in the Depsang Plains, close to Daulat Beg Oldie, India’s strategic base near the Karakoram Pass. To mirror the Chinese build-up, a top source in the Army said, additional air defence elements have been deployed in Ladakh, and the Army has moved additional divisions to the region. “Wherever we are deployed, air defence is something integral. It is an inherent part of deployment. So, air defence having been deployed is natural,” the source said
At their last meeting, the Corps Commanders reached “mutual consensus to disengage” while discussing “friction areas” such as Galwan Valley, Hot Corps Commanders meeting at Chushul today to end stalemate Springs and Pangong Tso.
Corps Commanders of the Indian and Chinese armies are scheduled to meet today morning at the Chushul border point as part of efforts to de-escalate the situation on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. This will be the third meeting between XIV Corps Commander Lt General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang Military Region Commander Major General Liu Lin. They will meet at the border point in Chushul — the June 6 and June 22 meetings were held at Moldo on the Chinese side. Follow our live blog for all the latest updates on the border row between India and China.