Downplaying reports of India losing territory to China in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said there was 'no change' in the Line of Actual Control.Antony said the issue was raised at a meeting he had with Jammu and Kashmir government officials and Army officers in Jammu on Tuesday, where the Army Corps Commander for Ladakh had categorically reported that there was not much change in the situation along the LAC.
Managing the senior generals has proven to be quite a headache for General Asim Munir, even as he and his team of loyal henchmen labour hard to dispel the sense of unhappiness among the public about the army's overbearing presence and interference in matters 'civilian', notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Antony asked the commanders to be more vigilant and to take appropriate steps in the light of Sunday's developments in Afghanistan which saw a series of suicide bomb attacks, defence ministry officials said.
Defence Minister A K Antony, on Thursday, carried out an in-depth review of coastal security mechanism put in place post-26/11 and ordered Navy and Coast Guard to quickly integrate all maritime agencies into the security grid to plug "gaps" in the apparatus.
Blinken is the highest-level American official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office and the first secretary of state to make the trip in five years.
In a new twist to the politically sensitive graft case in which he is an accused, CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan today filed a petition in a special court in Kochi seeking direction to the CBI to question Defence Minister A K Antony, the then chief minister of the state.
Defence Minister A K Antony has not always been averse to taking tough decisions. What has changed now? Aditi Phadnis analyses
Union Defence Minister A K Antony on Monday said it was "unfortunate and painful" that 70 per cent of the defence equipment was still being imported and informed the Lok Sabha that government was working towards manufacturing state-of-the-art equipment indigenously.
China, on Thursday, hosted Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Defence Minister AK Antony.
India, on Thursday, said infiltration from Pakistan has declined in the recent past, but the threat from terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir is "real" and there is no question of lowering the guard. "Of late, there has been a decline in infiltration in the borders but we cannot say it is an improvement," Defence Minister A K Antony told media-persons after addressing the Unified Commanders' Conference in New Delhi.
Defence Minister A K Antony said on Friday that the truce between Pakistan and Taliban has added to India's "worries" over the security scenario in the region.
Amidst controversy over the issue of revocation of Armed Forces Special Powers Act from parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday said that the final decision on it would be taken by the Unified Command Headquarters in the state.
A total of 162 soldiers of undivided India have been laid to rest in 17 locations in Germany. Of these, 50 have been commemorated in the Berlin War Cemetery. These soldiers belong to Indian Armoured Corps, Indian Artillery, Infantry, Royal Indian Army Service Corps, Madras Sappers and Miners, Indian Army Remount Corps and Indian Army Ordnance Corps.
With Intelligence inputs warning of a possible aerial terror attack, Defence Minister A K Antony today said the armed forces were ready to take on any future threats against the country. "We are ready for any eventuality," Antony told reporters while replying to a question on the sidelines of a function to honour war widows in New Delhi.
India and Pakistan need more time to resolve the "complicated" Siachen issue and have agreed to continue the dialogue process further, Defence minister A K Antony said on Friday.
Preliminary investigations have indicated that blasts on submarine INS Sindhurakshak were caused by "possible ignition" of armament, Defence Minister A K Antony said.
Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin were in Delhi for the fifth edition of the '2+2' dialogue.
The India-US strategic partnership is characterised by mutual trust and both sides are increasingly in agreement on key issues, such as countering China's aggression, promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific and addressing regional security challenges, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.
Scores of workers of Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, held a protest outside Defence Minister A K Antony's residence in New Delhi demanding a strong response by the government against the killing of five Indian soldiers on the Line of Control.
Defence Minister A K Antony Wednesday downplayed as an "internal family matter" the spat after Union home ministry raised serious questions over Indian Air Force personnel allegedly abandoning an injured policeman and an armed chopper which made an emergency landing following Maoist fire.
"We have to provide better salaries and incentives to people joining the defence forces to enable the forces to compete with the other sectors," he said.
Upset over the poor infrastructure along the Sino-Indian border in Sikkim, Defence Minister A K Antony on Sunday said he would "vigorously" pursue for taking urgent steps to develop the frontier areas to match China.
The region already faces a problem from sea pirates and the terror threat had dimensions of bringing in non-State actors as well as agents of transnational crimes, Antony said while inaugurating an 'International Maritime Search and Rescue Conference 2008' in New Delhi. There should be a continuous vigil by the organisations like Coast Guard as well as maritime forces in the region, he said, adding that cooperation with other countries, including China, was vital.
With the country's armed forces and defence establishments making strides to become network-centric, Antony said cyber attacks would pose a major threat. He said with terrorist and non-state actors clandestinely acquiring sophisticated cyber technology, this threat could be more ominous.
Against the backdrop of a tiff between India and China over the South China Sea, Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday called for exercising restraint to resolve the issue while pressing for freedom of navigation and access to resources.
Ruling out joining any military pact or alliance with other countries, Defence Minister A K Antony made it clear that India will not tone down or give up its growing engagements with major powers like the United States, Russia and others as these were aimed at increasing the capabilities of the Indian armed forces. He also said that the country's armament programmes were going at a steady pace.
As Antony talked to army officers and journalists accompanying him, several camera flashes went off on the Pakistani side.
A source in the Congress party has said that the name of the next presidential candidate from the UPA would surface by May 25. Renu Mittal reports
In the backdrop of the recent storm over alleged corruption in defence procurements, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said the country's interests were paramount and there will be "no cover up and no vendetta".
Stunned though he was that Phil Jackson has not returned as Los Angeles Lakers head coach, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant said on Tuesday he was excited about the prospect of playing under new appointee Mike D'Antoni.
Veena Kohli, mother of Captain Sumit Kohli who died under mysterious circumstances in 2006, on Saturday met Defence Minister A K Antony and demanded an independent probe into her son's death. Kohli, who was accompanied by her daughter Namrata and her advocate Major Guneep Chaudhary, appealed to Antony to provide justice to the family as she believes her son was murdered at the Army residential complex in Jammu and Kashmir by his fellow officers.
Against the backdrop of recent suicides and fratricides by jawans and stand-offs between them and officers, Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday asked the armed forces to adopt a liberal approach to jawans' pleas for leave and respond promptly.
'The defence minister is stuck in the trivial and frivolous with a clerical mindset merely to prove his so-called 'honesty" overlooking the primary aim of adding sufficient military muscle and firepower to the defence services,' says Bharat Verma.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday indicated a revamp of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, to give it capability to produce futuristic systems within the country."DRDO will have to play a crucial role in providing strategic defence with suitable delivery systems to the nation," Antony said. The DRDO and the end-users, the armed forces, would have to work with greater synergy to achieve the goal of self-reliance and minimise dependence on foreign nations.
"The scientists have produced results. It is excellent...up to the point," he said.
The India-US joint statement after the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.
Erik ten Hag's side will face Championship (second-tier) outfit Coventry City in the semis after they upset Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on Saturday.
Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday that Pakistan had 42 terror camps within its territory and that the neighbouring country was not taking effective steps to dismantle the terror outfits.