India, China journalist visa row to strain already sour ties

India and China have expelled nearly all of each other's journalists in recent weeks — the latest sign of an escalating rivalry between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.  

Last month, New Delhi denied visa renewals to the last two remaining Chinese journalists, from state-run Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, in the South Asian nation.

Beijing then refused to renew the visas of at least two of the last four Indian reporters based in China at the start of the year. A third was told that his accreditation had been revoked but he remains in the country, Indian media reported.

What did China and India say?

China said its actions were a "counter measure" to India's treatment of Chinese journalists.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said a return to normal was dependent on "whether India can work in the same direction as China, and provide the same convenience and assistance to Chinese journalists in India."

She claimed that Chinese journalists have experienced unfair and discriminatory treatment in India for a long time. 

The Indian government, meanwhile, said it hopes Beijing will allow Indian journalists to continue to work in China.

All foreign journalists, including Chinese ones, are free to work in India "without any limitations," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said last week.

But he added that they shouldn't deviate from "normal journalistic behavior and activities, or from the provisions governing journalist visas."

Bagchi also pointed to "certain difficulties" faced by Indian journalists in China — "such as not being permitted to hire locals as correspondents or journalists."

They also faced restrictions while getting access and traveling locally, he underlined.

What's the current state of Sino-Indian relations?

Xiaxue Liu, an associate research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy in China, said that the "weaponization of journalist visas by both New Delhi and Beijing shows that bilateral relations continue to deteriorate."

"Both governments need to consider how to handle bilateral ties in a way that can reduce the current tension."

China and India have been uneasy neighbors for decades.

In 1962, both sides fought a brief but a bloody border war.

Beijing still claims the entirety of India's Arunachal Pradesh state as its territory, calling it southern Tibet.

Relations between the two Asian giants have deteriorated further since a high-altitude border clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops in June 2020.

Both sides have since massed tens of thousands of soldiers along the disputed border who remain there despite 18 rounds of talks between top military officials.

This year, China ramped up tensions by renaming 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh.

Srikanth Kondapalli, professor of China studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said that there won't be any normalization of media exchanges between India and China until there's peace and tranquillity along the border.

"Until Chinese troops vacate the Depsang plains and Demchok in eastern Ladakh, it is hard to expect restoration of media ties," he stressed.

India seeks closer ties to the West

India has also been seeking to develop closer ties with Western countries over the past decade.

It has become an active member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the US-led grouping known as the Quad, which also includes Japan and Australia.

While these countries see New Delhi as a democratic counterweight to Beijing, China views the Quad as an attempt to contain its rising economic and military might.

In a sign of strained ties between the world's two most populous nations, Beijing has still not named a new ambassador to New Delhi since former envoy Sun Weidong left the post last year.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month said peace on the border was essential for normal relations with China and their ties can only be based on mutual respect, sensitivity and interest.

How will the actions affect ties?

The ejection of journalists is likely to further jeopardize relations between India and China, by worsening a general lack of understanding of each other's politics and society.

"The chasm between the two countries can grow wider," said Alka Acharya, honorary director of the Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi.

"Unlike other forms of retaliatory actions, squeezing out journalists will leave the average person — or even the analyst — in India dependent on only official channels, or worse, Western sources, for any information about China," she told DW.

"Given the language barriers, accessing social media in China will also be out of reach. This is truly an unfortunate development at a time when more first-hand and reliable reportage and information about developments is required, not less," said Acharya.

Zhiqun Zhu, a professor of international relations at Bucknell University in the United States, said both India and China should focus on areas of common interests rather than trying to "get their way at the expense of the other."

"[Prime Minister Narendra] Modi and [President] Xi Jinping should speak to each other as soon as possible to de-escalate tensions and arrest the further fall in the bilateral relationship," he underlined.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru