Hope China to facilitate continued presence of Indian journalists: MEA

NEW DELHI: In a fresh controversy that broke after China decided to 'freeze' visas of two Indian journalists, New Delhi on Thursday said it hoped that authorities in Beijing would facilitate continued presence of its journalists in the Asian nation.

"There are Chinese journalists who have valid Indian visas to undertake journalistic activities. So from that perspective, I do not see any limitations or difficulties in reporting or doing media coverage," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

Stating that India is in touch with Chinese authorities in this regard, Bagchi said: "As regards Indian journalists working in China, we would hope that Chinese authorities would facilitate their continued presence and reporting from China."

Correspondents for The Hindu newspaper and state broadcaster Prasar Bharati were told on Tuesday that their visas have been frozen.

Responding to the move, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that journalists from China have been unfairly treated in India for a long time, adding that a Xinhua journalist was recently asked to leave India by March 31.

The development came days after India objected to China renaming names of 11 locations in Arunchal Pradesh, which China calls 'Zangnan', the southern part of Tibet, and claims as its territory.

The ties between the two Asian behemoths have deteriorated since mid-2020, when Chinese and Indian troops clashed at the Galwan Valley, leaving 24 dead.