As the border standoff entered the sixth month, an early resolution to the row appeared dim with close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops remaining deployed in the high-altitude region and showing readiness for a long-haul. There is no official word on the talks yet but sources said the agenda was to finalise a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday praised the Indian Army as one of the most trusted and inspiring organisations in the country, highlighting its significant role in safeguarding borders, combating terrorism and assisting civil administration in times of need.
As tension escalated at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the sources said around 50-60 soldiers of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) approached the Indian post in the southern bank of Pangon lake area at around 6 pm but the Indian Army personnel posted there strongly confronted them, forcing their retreat.
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The next phase of the de-escalation process will kick off only after the fourth round of talks between corps commanders of the two sides.
The two militaries are set to hold extensive talks on finalising modalities for restoring normalcy and bringing back peace and tranquillity in the region after the verification of the disengagement exercise is completed.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will travel to India to attend the meeting of G20 foreign ministers on March 2, during which he is expected to hold his first bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The IAF has deployed almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the Line of Actual Control.
The United States is closely monitoring the situation along the India-China border, a senior official said on Tuesday and expressed concerns over Beijing's pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbours.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, who made a rare visit this week to the restive Xinjiang region which borders Ladakh, met the troops and officers stationed there and praised their "outstanding contributions" to the border defence and stabilisation of the volatile province.
'They have done in Eastern Ladakh what we did in Dokalam in 2017.'
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal rainfall for the upcoming monsoon season in India (June to September). The cumulative rainfall is estimated to be 105 percent of the long-period average. The IMD has also ruled out the possibility of El Nino conditions during the entire season. The monsoon is crucial for India's agriculture sector, which supports the livelihood of a significant portion of the population and contributes substantially to the country's GDP. However, while the prediction of normal rainfall brings relief, climate change is expected to cause variations in rainfall distribution.
China plans to build a new highway along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India as part of Beijing's efforts to strengthen its strategic position and project its power, a media report said on Wednesday.
"As regards reports about a bridge being made by the Chinese side on Pangong Lake, the government has been monitoring this activity closely," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
China and India have made 'positive progress' to resolve the border standoff, with both sides maintaining close communication through diplomatic and military channels, a senior foreign ministry official said in Beijing on Friday.
It took India and the Indian Army to show to the world that enough is enough and to challenge the neighbourhood bully, he said.
The 59-year-old Vikram Misri assumed charge of the key position at a time India is looking to navigate various geo-political challenges, including its frosty ties with China following the lingering eastern Ladakh border row and the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The batch of five experts will also play a role as interpreters between India and China sides during border personnel meetings, sources said.
Sources said the exercise is aimed at checking the IAF's overall combat capability and military preparedness in the region.
Chinese mobile manufacturer Vivo will return to sponsor the IPL this season after its attempts to transfer the rights to another company failed to materialise as offers were not upto its "expectations".
K Pazhani of Kadukkalur village served the army for 22 long years and was due to retire in a year.
India on Thursday said that ensuring a comprehensive disengagement of troops in all the friction areas in eastern Ladakh is the 'immediate task', remarks that came ahead of another round of military talks with China on the border standoff.
India and China will complete the disengagement process in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh by September 12, the External Affairs Ministry said on Friday.
The Indian delegation at Thursday's talks is likely to be led by Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the external affairs ministry, they said.
The video was reportedly shot at Fuyang Railway Station while the troops were preparing to head to a military camp in Hebei province, according to Taiwan News.
Outgoing Indian envoy to China Vikram Misri on Monday had a virtual farewell call on Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during which he said that "certain challenges" had overpowered the vast opportunities in the bilateral ties last year and hoped that with continued communication the two sides would be able to resolve the current difficulties.
India has told China that disengagement at all friction points is necessary to contemplate de-escalation of troops in eastern Ladakh even as the foreign ministers of the two countries agreed to establish a hotline for "timely" communication and exchange of views.
The ministry also made certain clarifications in the statement, and said, "the assertion that Indian territory is up to Finger 4 is categorically false. The territory of India is as depicted by the map of India and includes more than 43,000 sq km currently under illegal occupation of China since 1962."
"Though we reiterate our commitment to peace, our defence forces -- the army, the air force and the navy -- are adequately mobilised in a well-coordinated move to thwart any attempt to undermine our security. Our national interest will be protected at all costs. We have also ensured a widespread understanding in the international community of India's firm and principled stand," the President said. India and China are locked in a nearly nine-month long military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor. This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.
The Indian side has an edge over their Chinese counterparts in terms of battling the weather as a large number of them have already done duty in the Ladakh sector, including the Siachen glacier or other high altitude positions, sources said.
Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said troops from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'violated' the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements on the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
In an interaction with the commanders at their ongoing biannual conference, Singh reasserted the faith of the billion-plus citizens in the Indian Army as one of the "most trusted and inspiring organisations" in the country.
Another round of diplomatic talks under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination is expected to be scheduled soon.
The step was taken by both the sides as they wanted to avoid a repeat of June 15 violent face-off as the troops were in close vicinity.
The meeting started at around 11.30 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) opposite Chushul to defuse the tensions in Eastern Ladakh sector due to Chinese military build-up, the sources said. This is the second meeting between the two corps commanders.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the Rafales's arrival at a time when India's coronavirus crisis is getting worse.
The two sides held diplomatic talks through video conference on the border standoff in midst of fresh details emerging that China has strengthened its position in several areas in eastern Ladakh including Galwan Valley where a violent clash on June 15 left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India is committed to resolve all issues through dialogue, noting the way ahead to address the issue is negotiations.
