Gilgit Baltistan's large frontage with Kashmir and Ladakh across Kargil and the Siachen Glacier gives Pakistan and China the perceived scope for conduct of collusive operations against India and wrest control of the major course of the Indus and Shyok, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The 9.5-km long bridge inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on May 26 is India's longest bridge.
It is learnt that the India's top military brass is constantly monitoring the evolving situation even as the United States said the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops was a reminder of the threat posed by China.
Just like China wants Trump to lose the US presidential poll, it may want Modi to lose the Lok Sabha polls. So months before the 2024 elections, China may take possession of an important area, say one of the Char Dhams, warns Sanjeev Nayyar.
'A participant in many rounds of the border talks with China once told me that China seemed not interested in resolving the border issue as it wanted to keep it as a ready excuse to intervene in the sub-continent,' says Colonel (retd) Anil A Athale.
'China, much more than Pakistan, is a credible potential adversary with the ability to hurt our interests.' 'It must figure higher in our national security concerns,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
'The Chinese have been moving in step by step; inch by inch for the last 40 years.'
'Why has the peace been kept?' 'Basically because there is a balance.' 'Maybe they think that balance has changed.' 'People can make mistakes. People can miscalculate.' 'If that is the cause, then I think what we have done, matching their build-up, etc, it is giving a good account of ourselves in the face-offs.'
'Anyone familiar with Modi's track record will know he never forgets a slight, a betrayal,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
Within the army, there is growing concern that New Delhi will allow the Chinese to retain the territory they have occupied in the last month.
India must break out of this strategic triangulation between China and Pakistan. We need to settle our issues with one of the two, notes Shekhar Gupta.
China said it was committed to peace and tranquility at the border areas.
The intrusions into India were likely carried out by the PLA's better trained and equipped 'mobile operational units'.
In the fourth such incursion since March, two helicopters of the People's Liberation Army of China hovered for about five minutes in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district and "could have carried out aerial photography of Indian ground troops," according to official sources in the government.
'China need not worry about a truly 'resurgent India'.' 'It's not going to happen.'
Amidst reports of Chinese incursions, the Peoples Liberation Army and the Indian Army on Sunday decided to uphold treaties and agreements signed between the governments of the two sides to maintain peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control.
China on Sunday said the border dispute with India has been "contained" and the Indian elephant and Chinese dragon should "do more" to strengthen the bilateral cooperation to facilitate its settlement.
For both India and China, the most likely option -- and the most challenging -- appears to be a freezing of the status quo.
Rahul Gandhi's questions on Chinese aggression in Ladakh, in tweets directed at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, have drawn a response from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's MP in Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal.
China has welcomed Modi remarks on border, and has said it has a 'positive attitude'.
Arpi deserves to be complimented for the commitment and hard work that have gone into this production. The frustrations of seeking reliable documentation from the catacombs of the Indian bureaucracy did not deter him from going after the best information available, and the result is one that he can take much satisfaction in. Ambassador Prabhat P Shukla, Member Advisory Council, Vivekananda International Foundation, reviews Claude Arpi's The End of an Era: India Exits Tibet.
'Like Nehru, too, Modi has found dealing with Beijing more and more difficult and has adopted an increasingly assertive approach towards managing India's northern neighbour.'
The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje last week visited Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as a part of southern Tibet.
The best, wisest, and fairest next step in strengthening our own cause is to restore statehood to Jammu & Kashmir and allow the resumption of robust political activity. That's a box that remains unchecked on the Modi government's report card as we approach the fourth anniversary of Kashmir's Constitutional shift, notes Shekhar Gupta.
China has virtually rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposal to clarify positions on the Line of Actual Control and said it prefers an agreement with India on a Code of Conduct to maintain peace along the border.
The talks are taking place in the backdrop of China blocking at the United Nations India's move to get Jaish-e-Mohammad chief designated as international terrorist. Doval is expected to raise this issue with Yang.
The fighter plane has been untraceable since Tuesday.
The Supreme Court said on Thursday the surrender of Jammu and Kashmir's sovereignty to India was "absolutely complete" with the accession of the former princely state in October 1947, and it was "really difficult" to say that Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to the erstwhile state, was permanent in nature.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet and routinely protests visits by Indian leaders, foreign officials as well as the Dalai Lama to the area.
China will use airpower to support Pakistan from the start of a war. China will use the opportunity to at least take Ladakh. Its growing navy will prevent India from blockading or attacking the Makran Coast. And thanks to Chinese weapons, Pakistan keeps expanding its forces, observes Ravi Rikhye.
Lu said China will take 'further action' to safeguard its sovereignty.
The move was aimed at 'reaffirming China's claim over the state'. China claims the state as 'South Tibet'.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has bestowed special honours on a PLA battalion posted in Tibet close to Arunachal Pradesh for its "outstanding performance in safeguarding borders".
'Chinese troops are not geared to fight Indian troops who are battle hardened and acclimatised and are far more hardy.'
'Does the Indian army's new assertiveness risk a clash escalating into shooting and possibly skirmishes?' asks Ajai Shukla.
'China any day would prefer to team up with India and dump Pakistan once the resolution of the border dispute becomes an accomplished fact.'
The invitation to the "Dalai Lama for activity in the disputed areas between China and India will only damage peace stability of the border areas as well as the bilateral relationship between China and India", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin "called in" India's envoy in Beijing Ashok Kantha to lodge a protest on Modi's visit on Friday
India and China will hold the 18th round of border talks in Delhi from Monday - the first round of negotiations after PM Modi came to power last year.
Nearly two decades ago, then defence minister George Fernandes said: 'China has built roads up to the border, while there has been negligence on India's part.' Since Fernandes uttered these brave words, what has been done on the Indian side? The Modi Sarkar is apparently trying, but little has been achieved so far, says Claude Arpi.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances