Around 75 drones of the Indian Army carried multiple mock operations, including kamikaze attacks, first-aid delivery and parachute payload delivery exercises, at the event.
"India and China are in communication and negotiations on lowering the temperatures through military and diplomatic channels. No party should engage in any action that may escalate the situation at this point," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said during a briefing when asked about the Prime Minister's visit.
Last month, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had revealed that Pakistan very recently "reactivated" the terror camp in Balakot.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to call another high-level meeting later today, they added.
The first joint theatre command would be responsible for the border against Pakistan in what the military refers to as the "western theatre"; while a second command -- the northern theatre command -- would be responsible for the border with China. A third, navy-heavy theatre, called the "maritime command" will be responsible for the security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR); and an island command, already functional and called the Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC), would project power into the eastern Indian Ocean.
'Chinese soldiers don't have much experience of fighting in these kinds of areas and operating in this kind of terrain'
Front-line bases of the Indian army and the air force along the nearly 3,500 km de-facto border with China were Wednesday put on high alert in view of the worst border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh that left 20 Army personnel dead, official sources said.
On his last day in office as the Chief of Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday paid tribute to martyrs at the National War Memorial in New Delhi on Tuesday. General Rawat remembered the brave personnel who had sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation. He also received his farewell Guard of Honour as the Army Chief at the South Block.
Modi will take oath for a second term on Thursday at 7 pm.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday made his first visit to the Eastern Command after taking over the office and also went to the forward areas at the international borders with China.
Military affairs experts said his key challenge will be to build consensus among the three services for the theaterisation plan as the Indian Air Force has some apprehensions about its roll-out.
Gen Naravane also said the Army will enhance combat capabilities along the border with China so that it is fully prepared to deal with any security challenge.
Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed on this day every year, marking successful conclusion of the war with Pakistan in the Kargil-Drass sector of Jammu and Kashmir in 1999.
The commander said the situation in the region has been stable and no major "changes or palpable shift of stance has been noted" even as the Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a stand-off in Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh.
In an army that favours officers who have spent the bulk of their service years doing counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir, General Anil Chauhan is that rarity: A China specialist who has logged plenty of service years along the Line of Actual Control and the McMahon Line with China.
Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and top brass of the force on Sunday paid glowing tributes to the two soldiers who were killed in a militant attack near Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.
"The two former defence ministers had some clarifications and doubts on the situation which were clarified by the CDS and the Army chief," sources said.
Taking to Twitter, Tendulkar thanked the Indian soldiers for their services.
If the government of the day would like to set in place a smooth and well-planned changeover and facilitate the incoming chief to chalk out his action plan well in advance, the announcement of a successor needs to be done early, observes Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
This is the first time that a retired officer has been appointed at this position for which a gazette notification was issued to announce the change in rules for the appointment.
Gen Rawat's comments about the supporting role of the Air Force came at a conference when asked about the growing perception that the Indian Air Force was not keen on setting up the proposed theatre commands integrating the capabilities of the three forces.
Out of the 13 people killed in the IAF helicopter crash near Coonoor on Wednesday, the mortal remains of only Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brig LS Lidder could be identified, officials said on Thursday.
This is being seen as a major breakthrough for women in armed forces as so far, they were being inducted only as officers.
A resident of village Betadur in Dharwad district of Karnataka, the Madras regiment soldier was pulled out alive from under 30 ft of ice-and-snow debris where he lay buried for six days on the unforgiving Siachen glacier.
Some of the terrorists waiting to infiltrate into India were trained at the Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot which was bombed by Indian Air Force in February, the sources said.
Singh's wife and daughter, his father Colonel K P Singh (retd), mother Uma besides, other close relatives were also present there and bid a teary-eyed farewell to him.
His statement comes amidst reports of Chinese soldiers crossing the Line of Actual Control last week after some Tibetans hoisted Tibetan flags on the occasion of Dalai Lama's birthday on July 6.
Rawat conveyed to the family that forces stood with them in their hour of grief.
In the video clip, Gen Rawat paid glowing tributes to the Indian armed forces personnel killed in the 1971 war with Pakistan and appealed to the citizens to join the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the victory.
'These combat engineer units are used in war for building bridges for advancing troops.' 'Instead of training by building bridges over the Mula and Mutha rivers in Pune, they will practice by building bridges in Mumbai,' Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat tells Ajai Shukla.
He was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra in August for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft suffered a major technical glitch last year.
The helicopter is fitted with a self-defence system against heat seeker missiles, heavily-armoured cockpit, vital systems and components.
'Since the rotors of a helicopter rotate at very high RPMs, if they hit an obstacle -- for example a tree, wire or pole, the result is catastrophic.'
'The problem is that all this reconstruction work is being monitored by the prime minister himself with inputs being provided directly by the PMO so nobody in the state government dare contradict them even if their suggestions are totally contrary to what the ecology of this region requires.'
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Air Marshal Manvendra Singh who headed the tri-service investigation into the crash apprised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the findings of the probe on Wednesday.
The development comes after the army said India lost an officer and two soldiers during the violent face-off, while there were casualties on the Chinese side as well in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the first such incident in the last 45 years that reflected massive escalation in the five-week border row.
16 Indian Army divisions face China, 20 face Pakistan and two divisions are reserves. This powerful signal can hardly be missed in China or Pakistan, notes Ajai Shukla.
Protecting India's sovereignty and integrity will be ensured at any cost, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari said on Thursday after taking charge as the chief of the Indian Air Force.
Gen Rawat said, while addressing a gathering at a health summit, leaders emerge from crowds but are not those who lead people in 'inappropriate directions'.
Gen Naravane said the entire nation is proud of the soldiers deployed in Siachen, defending the territorial integrity of India.
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