Over the years, India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the US and this asset must be kept intact and nurtured through across the board political and civil society engagement, suggests former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The last contact between India and China was the military talks at the Corps Commander level in October this year.
After the Chinese People's Liberation Army troop buildup at the Line of Actual Control, the border separating India and China, the Indian Army has beefed up the 1,300 km-long LAC in the eastern sector in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
India and China to hold the 11th round of corps commander-level talks at Chushul in eastern Ladakh at 10.30 am on Friday that is expected to focus on disengagement of troops in remaining friction points, sources within the Indian Army said.
There was no official word on the outcome of the talks.
Lt Gen PGK Menon, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, popularly known as 'Fire and Fury' Corps, briefed the army chief on various aspects of the situation in eastern Ladakh.
Experts said the tensions have added to a sense of apprehension in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia that China will engage in more aggressive behaviour in pursuit of its territorial interests, which in turn has raised the possibility of a serious and coordinated pushback by leading global players.
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.
The comments by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava came at a media briefing when asked about the fresh comments by the Chinese foreign ministry blaming India again for the border situation in eastern Ladakh.
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.
A day after the nearly 12-and-half-hour talks, the two sides, in a joint statement on Monday, reaffirmed that the resolution of the pending issues would help in the restoration of peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region and enable progress in bilateral relations.
Instead of "the dragon and the elephant compete with each other", "the dragon and the elephant dance together, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
'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.'
'Neither will China -- at least for now -- because its troops are deployed in equal strength.' 'We are negotiating at equal terms right now and it's a game of patience.'
China and India have agreed to work to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control and resolve the border standoff through talks while implementing the consensus reached between the two countries' leadership that 'differences' do not escalate into 'disputes', a top Chinese official said.
India and Chinese troops on Saturday exchanged sweets and greetings at 10 border posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including in eastern Ladakh to mark the New Year, officials said.
'We must be careful because China has not given its design in Eastern Ladakh.'
'China would want to take a tougher stance against India forming those strategic partnerships and prevent Quad from becoming a military alliance.'
'Both sides have agreed that the overall situation should be handled in a responsible manner'
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury aid that India must tackle Chinese aggression using all necessary means.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla terms India's relationship with China as "complex".
The rise of startups and a thriving entrepreneurial culture in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is contributing to the increasing sales of high-end cars.
'China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante of April 2020.' 'India will have to weigh its options based on this premise.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg are being finalised, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday but did not give a direct reply on the possibility of a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The strengthening of the Mountain Strike Corps is part of the steps taken by the force to rebalance its focus more towards the Chinese border from the western front with Pakistan.
"India and China to hold Corps Commander-level talks on October 12 in the Eastern Ladakh sector to address the ongoing military standoff between the two countries. So far, the two sides have held six rounds of Corps Commander-level talks," the source said.
"I still have not heard a credible explanation as to why they chose to bring that size of forces to that sector of our border. Now, if peace and tranquility is disturbed and attempts are being made to change the LAC status quo unilaterally and large forces are brought to the border in contravention of written agreements, then obviously the relationship will be impacted," he said.
When asked for an update on Tuesday's military-level talks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides reached progress for promoting further disengagement of the border troops at the Western Sector.
China will always try to set the agenda for negotiations and tries through such means to determine the direction of talks, and to avoid discussing subjects that may paint it into a corner or compel the Chinese negotiator to disclose their position prematurely.
The China-India bilateral trade in the first half of the year totalled $57.48 billion, up 62.7 per cent year on year, perhaps the highest in recent years amid the Ladakh impasse and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released by China's Customs. Though Indian exports to China picked up with 69.6 per cent year on year increase, the trade deficit, a structural problem for India for long, climbed to 55.6 per cent. According to data released by China's Customs, India's exports to China reached $14.724 billion, up 69.6 per cent year on year in the first six months and India's imports from China amounted to $42.755 billion, up 60.4 per cent.
The Army is set to procure a fleet of light tanks for deployment in high-altitude areas in eastern Ladakh under 'Project Zorawar' to bolster its overall firepower and operational prowess to deal with any eventualities.
This is the first time that the defence ministry has admitted officially about the transgressions by the Chinese troops.
His attack on the government came a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assured Parliament that India has not conceded anything in the sustained talks with China and it will not allow even an inch of its territory to be taken away by anyone.
China's national health commission said 39,452 new cases were reported on Monday, including 36,304 local asymptomatic cases, as authorities scrambled to contain the fresh surge in infections.
The Congress on Friday questioned the silence of the government on the veracity of a video which purportedly shows injured Indian soldiers in captivity of the Chinese and said if it is genuine, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi must ensure that China is held globally accountable for indulging in war crimes.
The research, published in the journal PLOS Pathogens on Thursday, suggests that the first case of COVID-19 arose between early October and mid-November, 2019 in China, with the most likely date of origin being November 17.
The MEA spokesperson further said the actions and behaviour of the Chinese side since earlier this year along the LAC have been in "clear violation" of the bilateral agreements and protocols concluded between the two countries to ensure peace and tranquility on the border.
Another round of diplomatic talks under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination is expected to be scheduled soon.
Until last month more than two-thirds of the Indian Army was deployed against Pakistan. Of 14 army corps, just four-and-a-half faced China, while more than twice that number was ranged against Pakistan.
The recent action comes amid the ongoing tension between India and China after the violent standoff on June 15 in Galwan Valley area in eastern Ladakh in which both sides suffered casualties.
