China’s Confucius Institutes in India part of its foreign intelligence to infiltrate higher education system

New Delhi, Dec 17: Earlier this week, the Australian media reported that the Chinese Communist Party members have been working in British Consulates, universities and some of the leading companies in the UK.

Members who swear a solemn oath to guard party secrets, be loyal to the party, work hard, fight for communism through their lives and never betray the party are understood to have secured jobs in British consulates. Among them is a senior official at the British consulate in Shanghai and the official describes their role as supporting ministries and officials on visit to East China.

While these reports do not speak about India, the Indian Intelligence agencies had in July cautioned the Cabinet Secretary about the threat posed by the Chinese intelligence in the government. The Intelligence spoke about the threat mainly in the telecommunication, higher education and power sectors.

The Intelligence also spoke about the role of the Confucius Institutes acting as an influencer. It also spoke about the the threat of Chinese mobile applications that could extract data and also how malware could be embedded into power equipment.

To counter the threat by the Confucius Institutes, the government said that it would be soon mandatory for the Indian universities to obtain prior permission from the government before signing any memorandum of understanding (MoU) with educational institutes of countries that share a land border with India.

This proposal was mooted, following a review on August 9 of China funded Confucius Centres attached to the universities in India. A review of the MoUs between the universities of India and China were also reviewed.

The Confucius Institutes have a tie up with the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute and the centres attached to the University of Mumbai and the School of Chinese Language, Ballygunge, Kolkata.

This would mean that similar permissions would need to be obtained for MoUs with countries such as Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The External Affairs Ministry was hesitant at first, but the Prime Minister's Office had no objection. This would mean that the education ministry will now implement the same through an order.

The Confucius Programme is funded by the Office of the Chinese Language Council International. This is linked to the United Front Work Department, which is now headed by Chinese President, Xi Jinping.

One of the key aspects behind this decision is that China's meddling in education is a threat to academic freedom. The Human Rights Watch in a report had said that the Confucius institutes are an extension of the Chinese government. Many teachers feel uncomfortable with the presence of such schools on the campus. They felt that the teaching could be compromised by them, HRW had also said.

An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that these institutes are security threats. The official also said that there are concerns around the growing influence of the Chinese in higher education and culture. Further the proximity of these institutes to the Chinese Communist Party also makes it a concern.

Before becoming the National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval had in 2013 published a paper titled, Chinese Intelligence: From a Party Outfit to Cyber Warriors. NSA Doval and written, "establishment of nearly 380 Confucius Institutes in 180 countries, Chinese language institutes etc. also are part of its foreign intelligence activities. China envisions for itself a big power role and, silently but steadily, is building up its intelligence capabilities commensurate to that vision."