Calls from Chinese CCTV seeking footage of INS Vikrant raise alarm bells in Defence Ministry | idrw.org
On the evening of August 11, the day before India was to showcase its shipbuilding might by launching indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant at Kochi, came two phone calls which set the alarm bells ringing in the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The caller, claiming to be a representative of the Chinese state broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), employed 'dubious' means in a bid to get footage of the warship – a move that has not gone down well with the government.
One of the two calls was made to a reporter from Doordarshan (DD) seeking the footage of whatever had been shot of the ship by him.
"I was informed by the caller, who sounded like a heavily accented Chinese person introducing himself as a reporter from CCTV, that a captain of the Indian Navy had provided him the number with direction to seek the footage from DD," the DD correspondent said.
Unfortunately, for the caller, the naval captain he was referring to was present with the correspondent.
"On the spot, I checked with the captain who denied it. As such there was no question of providing footage to anyone unless my own superiors inform me," the correspondent mentioned.
Minutes before, the caller had spoken to the naval captain.
"He said it was the DD reporter who gave him my number and he wanted access to the ship which was firmly denied as he was late. Journalists who went for that event were cleared in advance," said the captain.
Both the naval officer and the correspondent said they had never spoken to the person before.
When reached for a response, Captain PVS Satish, public relations officer of the Indian Navy, said, "Yes, we got these calls but there was no question of allowing such attempts through."
While the purpose behind these moves remained unclear, the MoD on its part has 'flagged' the issue.
"One can understand this urgency for access for private news broadcasters but why CCTV? It is very intriguing. Once this event got over, we took note of how the Chinese were trying 'too hard'. All the three services and their PROs have been briefed about these dubious ways deployed," said a senior MoD official.
The Ministry of External Affairs, which controls access for foreign correspondents, though not informed by the MoD as yet, said such incidents 'are not acceptable'.
Sources said the effort is to shield sensitive issues from nations which are not exactly 'friendly'.
After initially denying the occurrence, a CCTV representative based in New Delhi and registered with the MEA, admitted that their colleague had approached the MoD on this issue.
"Yes, our colleague from Mumbai had tried. There may have been some misunderstanding," he said.
