The result is that today we have Al Jazeera English, Telesur and China Global Television Network (CGTN). AJE is funded by the Emir of Qatar, Telesur by Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and several other Latin American governments and CGTN is owned by the Communist Chinese government. Even though these media outlets are state-run, they do not merely function as government mouthpieces. Their editorial policies vary according to essentially where they are located. But a common theme amongst three media outlets is that they aim to offer something different than the BBC and CNN, their reasons for the same vary though.

Telesur Editorial Policy

Telesur is based in Caracas and it was launched as a 24/7 in October 2005. It’s stated editorial policy is to offer a different vision of news from the BBC or the CNN. The reason for this is that Telesur believes that these big media outlets for the longest time did not present their side of the story, it was always one-sided and against them. Never did the likes of CNN bothered to cover the local news of Latin American countries. CNN and the likes always seemed to pass America’s foreign policy goals. Telesur policy has been to challenge/critique American imperialism. A simple youtube search result shows the numerous programmes done by Telesur on US imperialism. 

Telesur not only gives an in-depth perspective of the Latin American people but it also to some extent focuses on raising the issues from the Global South. For eg., they did a story on the Indian Army’s Brutality in Kashmir. Telesur took a pro-people stand and an anti-establishment view. 

Al Jazeera Editorial Policy

AJE was launched in November 2006, although there was already AJA (Arabic). The reason to launch an English version was to reach a global audience and present the views of the Arab/Muslim world. After the 9/11 attacks, the coverage of the Middle Eastern countries by the likes of the BBC and CNN had created a negative stereotype about the Arab world. The one-sided coverage of the Iraq war by BBC world and CNN only played a spoilsport in strengthening the stereotype against the Arab population. AJE’s editorial policy, therefore, has been to present both sides of the story. Their aim is to provide a different perspective on the news.

According to Josh Rushing (AJ’s US Defence and Military Correspondent), “I tell people that Al-Jazeera provides a different perspective to CNN but an equally important one. CNN films the launch of a missile, AJ films what happens when it lands”. AJ provide different perspectives in three ways, firstly by covering the same international news in an alternate way to the ‘Western perspective’ of the BBC World and CNN, secondly, they cover the parts of the world which no one covers, which tends not to get reported at all and thirdly by covering the developing countries (Global South) in an original way. So their editorial policy is pretty much like Telesur when it comes to presenting a different world view about the Arab world. 

China’s Global Television Network’s Editorial Policy

CGTN, the Chinese media outlet has a different editorial policy than Telesur and AJE. Since it’s controlled by the government, it mostly acts as an extended arm of the government. CGTN’s policy has been to show the better side of China to the world and debunk many stereotypes that the Western world has of China. China is always perceived with a negative perception in the Western world (America, EU countries etc) because of their being a Communist government and how there’s no press freedom at all. The recent reports of curbing dissent and protests and violation of Human Rights has also led many to have a very bad image of China. 

Chinese government’s aim, therefore, is to change this perception and they use CGTN as their foreign policy arm. CGTN, therefore, channels the interests of the government in a more direct way. CGTN is trying to accomplish certain goals through its editorial policy, firstly it does shows on emphasising on History, culture, Philosophy and civilization of China, secondly, through its programmes it tries to assert that China is emerging as a formidable economic power (eg., their coverage of the celebration of ten years of Beijing Olympics) and lastly it wants to address certain stereotypes about China. So it’s quite evident that the Chinese government wants to change its global image with the help of CGTN. China wants the world to like it and increase its soft power through CGTN. 

As discussed above, China wants the world to like it and it cannot happen unless positive aspects of China are shown to the world. China’s growing military power, its political system along with its growing human rights violations, and it’s economic strength all contribute to its negative image abroad. For this reason, the Chinese government felt the need to invest in global media. The other reason to go global was that the government was not happy with the way they have been covered by the Western media in the past. Hence China invested more in strengthening it’s foreign language channels and expanded its partnership with foreign television organizations. Leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics the Western media had increased its coverage of China in a more hostile way, highlighting the Chinese government’s Human Rights violation records. The Western media’s coverage of the pro-Tibetan riots was seen by the Chinese government to be as anti-Chinese.

A CBN  report highlighted the lack of democracy in China (no free journalism and suppression of dissent). It was believed that this would change after the games as post the Olympics China was seen to have graduated as ‘World Power’. But nothing changed and the negative coverage of China by the Western media continued. Hence China could not wait for the Western media to change its critical stance on China and therefore it was needed that China is proactive and “go global” and push for Chinese perspectives into the international arena if it wanted to contest the discursive power of the West. CCTV (now CGTN) China’s premier broadcaster global expansion has risen manifold after the decision to go global was taken. CCTV claims to have achieved global coverage with its. CCTV4. It’s a Mandarin-language channel whose target audience is overseas Chinese-speaking viewers. The channel reaches approx 10 million viewers outside China in 93 countries. There’s another channel which has helped its global reach, CCTV-9, a foreign-language channel (English, French & Spanish). It has some 40 million viewers overseas in 94 countries. 

Conclusion

The editorial policy of a news media outlet varies according to the region, the tensions in the surroundings as well the political environment of the region. Although it would seem that the editorial policies of the above-discussed media outlets are similar, it’d be wrong to make a quick judgement. A quick glance at their websites gives a clear picture of the kind of stories they do and what do they want to tell the world through those stories. 

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Some major updates to cover in today’s Indian Foreign Policy Report are as follow:

India’s Mission Sagar in the Indian Ocean Region

With that spirit in mind, India has recently launched, ‘Mission Sagar’ on the 10th of May. The mission is India’s way of assisting nations in the Indian Ocean Region, in their fight against COVID-19. In this mission, assistance was provided by the INS Kesari, that sailed to the Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles, to deliver material assistance and in particular, medical assistance to Mauritius and Comoros. The successful completion of the mission can be seen as a major milestone, in terms of India’s new foreign policy of increased engagement in the Indo-Pacific and the Western Sectors of the Indian Ocean. The mission is also in line with the Prime Minister’s policy of SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region). Mission Sagar is one particular example of increased Indian activities in the spheres of maritime security, cooperation, and navigation security, as the country transitions from a passive maritime actor to an exceptionally active one, with an equally important say in the Indo-Pacific, one of the most coveted and disputed regions in the world.

Bi-annual Exchange of Prisoner List Between India and Pakistan

As India has constantly tried to increase its presence on the international stage, it has found itself at an impasse with its neighbours on a multitude of issues. However, amidst this highly taut and tense environment, India and Pakistan recently exchanged a list of prisoners on the 1st of July. The exchange of lists is in accordance with the 2008 agreement, where the nations exchange a list of prisoners bi-annually, which is on the 1st of January and the 1st of July. The Indian lists contain 265 Pakistani civilians and 97 fishermen. On the other hand, the list issued by Pakistan contains 54 Indian civilians and 270 fishermen. Furthermore, to expedite the process, the Indian government has provided the nationality verification details of 7 civilians and 106 fishermen. Lastly, to show India’s commitment to the bilateral process, the central government has asked the Pakistan authorities to confirm the nationality status of 88 Pakistani prisoners in Indian custody.

India-China Dialogue Between Special Representatives

As mentioned earlier, India finds itself in an extremely precarious position when it comes to both its neighbours. However, the statement is especially true regarding its relationship with China over the Actual Line of Control. The escalation in violence in the Galwan Valley and the loss of life of Indian and Chinese soldiers was the first since 1975. This extremely volatile situation has both the governments scratching their heads as to what needs to be done next to diffuse the simmering atmosphere. China has chosen to strike a blow against India when it is busy dealing with the surge in casualties as a result of the COVID pandemic. However, in the last few months, India has chosen to follow a hardline stance against the Chinese. This has visibly resulted in increased violence on the border regions and has led to a campaign within the Indian polity advocating the ban of all Chinese products and applications.

However, recently there was a dialogue between the special representatives of the two countries. During the conversation, Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Advisor and H.E Wang Yi, State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs for China, had an in-depth exchange of views on the border issue. During the discussion, several important points were highlighted, the first among them being that peace and tranquillity were essential for the further development of bilateral relations. Hence, it was agreed upon to disengage and pull back all troops from the Line of Actual Control and complete de-escalation on the India-China border. Secondly, both sides agreed to respect the Line of Actual Control and vowed to not take any unilateral action in the region.

India-Russia Bilateral Relations

In a further effort to strengthen bilateral relations, the Indian Prime Minister had a telephonic conversation with the President of the Russian Federation, wherein they discussed several strategic topics of interest to both nations. Mr Modi also used this opportunity to congratulate the President on the successful completion of the parade, marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. More importantly, Mr Modi felicitated President Putin on the recent constitutional vote, through which President Putin has consolidated his power till 2036. The Prime minster further recalled the participation of an Indian contingent in the parade in Moscow, as a sign of friendship. Lastly, the Indian Government expressed their enthusiasm for hosting President Putin, later in the year during the bilateral summit.

India’s Participation at the ‘Strengthening Consensus for Peace’ in Afghanistan

Afghanistan over the last many decades has been turned into a complete war zone, with the presence of uninvited international actors. However, in the last two years, there have been constructive steps taken by both the Afghan government and the United States of America to bring the Taliban to the negotiation table in an effort to end the violence and bring lasting peace to the region. Lately, the Islamic Republic hosted a regional meeting, by the name of, ‘ Strengthening Consensus for Peace’. The meeting was chaired by the Afghan President, H.E Dr Mohammad Ashraf Ghani. The conference recorded participation by 20 countries and international organizations. During the conference, India expressed support for establishing a constitutional order in Afghanistan and unequivocally stated the importance of putting an end to terrorist sanctuaries and safe havens for destructive forces in Afghanistan.

Indian Nomination to the United Nations Security Council

Lastly, India recently secured its position as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, with a vote of 184 out of 192. However, to fill in the seat of the Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Shri Mani Pandey, who currently serves as the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs has been appointed.

Conclusion

Looking at India’s foreign policy from a macro perspective, we come to see that India has consistently tried to create an environment of inclusiveness then whether it be in the Indo-Pacific or the Western sectors of the Indian Ocean Region. India’s willingness to corporate and emerge as a regional power is a visible thought of its efforts in Afghanistan and its strategic partnerships with countries like the Russian Federation and France. In the last two decades, China has developed by leaps and bounds and has emerged not as a regional power but as a global hegemon. This has overshadowed nations like India, owing to China’s aggressive policies. Hence, while India tries to extend its reach globally, it has locked horns with China recently in the Galwan Valley region. The Indian and the Chinese sides seem to be ideologically clashing with each other over the Indo-Pacific, one of the most disputed regions of the world. It is India’s capabilities to fight off both the COVID 19 and the Chinese aggression, that will define the India that emerges in the near future.

Also Read: INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY REPORT – EDITION #2

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