India bars Chinese tankers from oil trade: Report

India’s state-owned oil companies have stopped hiring Chinese tankers to ship their crude and petroleum products, a Bloomberg report said.

This comes after relations between the two countries deteriorated after border tensions in eastern Ladakh. The move is a step towards further straining the ties between India-China after a violent clash between both countries’ troops on June 15 which had killed 20 Indian soldiers.

Vessels owned and flagged by China have been barred from bidding on tenders for chartering tankers to import crude in India or export products like diesel, Bloomberg reported.

The ban followed India’s implementation of business regulations with nations sharing its border, the report said quoting people who wished to be kept anonymous.

The companies are also planning to ask oil traders and suppliers not to send shipment to India using Chinese vessels, the report said quoting the people.

Spokespeople for the three state-owned oil refiners — Indian Oil Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. — did not immediately comment on the development, Bloomberg reported.

The new trade curbs by India on some of its neighbors is seen aimed primarily at limiting Chinese companies’ participation in orders and tenders offered by government-owned companies.

Earlier in July, the central government banned 59 apps linked to China, citing security threats, in an attempt to reduce India’s dependence on Chinese products. India has imported goods worth over $70 billion from China in 2019.