Opinion | The BBC's campaign against China in South Asia

By Tom Fowdy

On Feb. 9, the BBC published an exclusive story on its website claiming to have received a "leaked" document from the government of Nepali. The document, which was never verified or confirmed, made a series of claims that China was "encroaching" upon the border of the Himalayan nation, framing it as an aggressor. The claim was unsurprisingly astroturfed by the Indian media, who has a penchant for pushing negative stories about China in its neighboring countries, of which it considers its own domain. China's embassy also iterated a denial of the claims presented in the report, whilst Nepali netizens on Twitter also rejected the claims.

This is not the first negative story the BBC has run concerning China in South Asia, and in fact constitutes part of a wider campaign. Whilst the BBC's coverage of China is now negative and aggressive across the board, waging a public relations war against the country, the South Asian region is a very specific and intentional target which has seen a high quantity of stories also produced in attacking China's relations with Sri Lanka under the narrative of a "debt trap" narrative. Effectively, the British state sees South Asia as a "region of its own dominion" and is pursuing competition against China here.

Understanding The BBC World Service

The BBC is an institution of Empire. It was created in the heyday of British Imperialism in the early 20th century and in turn established its "Empire" or "World Service" as a means of securing British influence and interests in the countries of which it dominated. The politicization of the BBC's coverage was solidified first by World War II, and then more drastically in the Cold War as Britain found its influence on the world stage declining. A 1946 White Paper affirmed that the Foreign Office would have a hand in shaping the BBC agenda on countries of interest, and the Suez Crisis served as a pivotal moment as Britain sought to counter Anti-Imperialist movements in the Middle East and Africa, namely in this instance Egypt's Nasser.

This mechanism of following Britain's foreign policy has continued into the present day, with studies setting out how the broadcaster aggressively supported the Iraq War and other wars Britain has been involved in. Now, the BBC has established itself as a core aspect of the Anti-China generator in diplomatic conjunction with the United States and in turn, is waging an opinion war against the country. Whilst stand out aspects include its absolutely relentless campaigns on Hong Kong (it published over 100 stories criticizing the national security law in 2021) and Xinjiang, nonetheless the modus operandi of attempting to exert influence in areas once considered Britain's "Imperial domain" has continued, with a special emphasis on South Asia.

The Indo-Pacific Agenda

This foreign policy shift by the UK has ultimately coincided with Brexit and the self-appointment of the country as an "Indo-Pacific power" of which has seen London seek to bolster ties with Modi's India, assisting New Delhi to resist "Chinese influence" in its peripheral regions. As a result, the BBC has begun to relentlessly publish negative stories on this front. This includes the usage of highly biased and charged headlines such as "Colombo Port City: A new Dubai or a Chinese enclave?" whilst also exacerbating any potential disagreements between the countries, such as when it led with "Ship-load of 'toxic' Chinese fertilizer causes diplomatic stink". A third-party scholar, Deborah Brautigam, who is a critic of the "debt trap narrative" also engaged in a video interview with the BBC only to find that her comments had been edited in the final cut to frame her as proponent of the narrative, leading her to lodge a complaint with the broadcaster.

In pushing these narratives, the BBC in turn ignores the many disputes these countries have with India. For example, why does it focus on the allegations of "Chinese encroachment against Nepal", but ignore its territorial disputes with India? Or likewise allegations from Nepalese people that India effectively bullies and threatens the country. The BBC may claim to be an impartial and independent broadcaster, but it is anything but. It is ultimately serving a foreign policy agenda of which is disguised under the rhetoric of its own exceptionalism. I have begun to devote increasing research and focus to the BBC's behavior and illicit agenda, having had enough of its deliberately negative, cynical, unbalanced and outright hostile coverage of China.

The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

Read more articles by Tom Fowdy:

Opinion | 'Provocation Diplomacy': Understanding the Taiwan Strategy

Opinion | How the Western Media flipped Hong Kong's COVID narrative

Opinion | The BBC's Audacious Propaganda Campaign Against China