It is essential to take action against Chinese vloggers using Bangladeshi territory to malign India's image, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said on Tuesday.
Responding to a question at a media briefing in New Delhi yesterday, he said filming in Dhaka, creating reels, and passing them off as locations in India is condemnable and unfortunate.
Several questions were raised at the briefing, referring to a Prothom Alo report on the issue. Journalists said more than a hundred Chinese vloggers are continuously making reels at different locations across Dhaka and presenting the places as parts of India.
Stating that the videos are also being livestreamed on various Chinese social media platforms, with each location identified as being in New Delhi, the journalists asked for India's position on the matter.
In response, Randhir Jaiswal said the reports in Bangladeshi media have come to the Indian government's attention as well.
He said it is unfortunate for both countries when one country's territory is being used to defame another. Those creating and promoting false narratives should understand that their actions also undermine their own country's credibility, he added.
Both those carrying out these activities and those behind them are at fault. Appropriate action should be taken against them, the spokesperson said. He also said such attempts to portray any country in a distorted manner cannot be supported.
Asked whether India had held formal discussions with China over the issue, Jaiswal did not give a direct answer. He described the matter as unfortunate and said the authorities there should take action against it.
On 6 November, Prothom Alo Online published a report titled “Chinese citizens making live videos from morning till night, even going inside people’s homes”.
The report mentioned that the residents of Dhaka's Uttara area had reported that more than 150 Chinese nationals were filming videos in neighbourhood lanes and alleys.
Local residents said they had no idea where the videos were being published or what was being said in them. They also alleged that the activities were not being monitored by the local police station. More than a hundred vloggers were reportedly engaged in the activity every day and were also paying Bangladeshi citizens to assist them.