You misunderstood me. I firmly believe UC is owned by Alibaba, but I insist that I don't understand why is that important.
I don't think the intention was draw a correlation between Alibaba and security lapses.
UC Browser is likely also available on devices not using Google Play where Chrome may not be an option.
Maybe the article author would have had more luck getting a statement from Alibaba since it has a more significant international presence compared to UCWeb Inc.