Both the Apache and Chinook helicopters have been pressed into service as part of the IAF's deployment along the LAC in view of the bitter standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, officials said.
The defence ministry on Thursday accorded its approval to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator drones from the US to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the frontier with China, people familiar with the development said.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said China continues to deploy a large number of troops and armaments in the border areas and it was in response to Chinese actions that the Indian armed forces had to make appropriate counter deployments.
The trust said that the situation at the India-China border is "serious" and defending the country is "most important".
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.
Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane had said on Wednesday that India was hopeful of resolving issues related to disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Springs) in eastern Ladakh in the 14th round of talks.
'We have to up our vigil everywhere, all along the LAC -- winter, summer or spring.'
There was no official word on the outcome of the talks.
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.
The Chinese military on Friday confirmed that the troops of China and India have begun the process of disengagement from the Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area of eastern Ladakh in a 'coordinated and planned way'.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reiterated that the situation at the India-China border is generally stable and both sides should consolidate the present achievements and strictly abide by the relevant agreements while pushing for further cooling and easing of the conditions for sustainable peace and tranquillity at the frontier.
The Wayanad MP also said that he supports Indian foreign policy and doesn't have a huge disagreement with it with regard to India's position on the Russia-Ukraine war.
'India cannot allow Beijing's policy of stabilising and destabilising the border at will to perpetuate its own ends.' A riveting excerpt from Manish Tiwari's 10 Flashpoints; 20 Years National Security Situations That Impacted India.
The current fleet of BMP-2/2Ks was first inducted into the Army in 1985 and it has been the mainstay of the mechanised infantry since then.
Present vice chief Lt Gen BS Raju would be succeeding Lt Gen AS Bhinder who is superannuating on February 28 at the South Western Army Command.
Confident that Indian Armed Forces will leave no stone unturned to safeguard our frontiers be it at land, air or ocean," Rawat said.
Jaishankar also asserted that it was vital for both the countries to reach an 'accommodation' not just for themselves, but the world has a lot riding on it.
The deployment of strategic bomber aircraft is also still on by the Chinese
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.
Satellite images dated August 17, 2021, have revealed upgraded infrastructure near the Depsang plains along with the Western sector of the LAC between India and China.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
The move comes amid reports in a section of media that claimed that Chinese soldiers had displayed their flag in the region a few days ago.
The Army said Gen Pande witnessed Parvat Prahar exercise besides interacting with officers and troops deployed in the region. The exercise featured a display of operational capabilities by artillery guns and other key weapon systems.
India on Friday said that a second bridge being constructed by China on Pangong lake is in an area that has been under illegal occupation of that country since 1960.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar has told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the two sides should work for an early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh to restore peace and tranquility in the border areas as this has been an essential basis for progress in Sino-India ties.
The development comes after after reaching a consensus in the 16th round of military talks, the two sides said in a joint statement this evening.
The military standoff with China has been going on for over two years now when the Chinese side attempted to change the status quo unilaterally by moving troops in large numbers against Indian positions.
Jaishankar said full restoration and maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for the development of the bilateral ties.
'India and China are already in a warlike situation.'
It is learnt that the face-off took place after a Chinese patrol tried to enter Indian territory and the troops of China's People's Liberation Army were forced back.
The Spice-2000 bombs can hit targets up to 70 km and the new variant inducted in the force can also destroy bunkers and hardened shelters
The Eastern Army commander said that there were some minor injuries to soldiers on both sides.
India has already mobilised fighter jets and sent thousands of additional army troops to forward locations along the border with China after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a brutal attack by Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on June 15.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to hold separate bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang and Russia's Sergey Lavrov at a beach resort in Goa on Thursday on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) amid rapidly evolving regional security situation.
India and China on Friday are holding another round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the 22-month-long standoff in some friction points in eastern Ladakh, two months after the last round of such talks failed to yield any significant outcome.
With the two armies again in a face-off at multiple points, there is apprehension of renewed clashes.
The use of firearms along the LAC marks a serious escalation in border tensions as the previous instance of shots being fired at the de-facto border was in 1975.
The papers presented by Indian Police Service officers at the just concluded conference of director generals of police (DGPs) and inspector generals of police (IGPs) submit that by providing huge amounts of money in the name of loans for developmental works in Southeast and South Asia, China wants to reduce India's influence in the Indian Ocean region and force resolution of bilateral issues on Beijing's terms.
'We have to be prepared on the borders to withstand Chinese expansionist designs.'
'Unless India ups the ante, Beijing will continue to believe its transgressions are cost free and will feel encouraged to do more of the same.'
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