'This was Indian land the PLA advanced on and occupied.' 'The Chinese then 'negotiated' a pullback of their troops a small distance on Indian territory even as Indian jawans draw back further into India from the forward position.' 'An apparently satisfied Indian government says this is a great move for peace! How great is that for China!'
'For the moment in Eastern Ladakh, it is unlikely there will be any more escalation of this conflict,' observes Colonel S Dinny (retd) who served as Commanding Officer of an infantry battalion deployed in the Pangong Tso area.
In the fresh round of talks, the Indian side is expected to press for disengagement of troops as soon as possible in all the remaining friction points besides seeking resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
The exercise 'Hand-in-Hand' between the armies of the two countries will take place within next 4-5 months in China.
China on Thursday said Chinese and Indian troops have taken "effective measures" to disengage at the Galwan Valley and other areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and the situation is "stable and improving," days after the two sides agreed on an expeditious withdrawal of soldiers from all the standoff points.
The talks took place over video call on Sunday. According to sources, talks were held for over two hours in a cordial and forward-looking manner.
This is the third round of Corps Commander-level talks being held. The first two rounds had taken place in Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC.
India and China are likely to hold the 16th round of high-level military talks on July 17 to resolve the issues in remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
India and China are likely to hold another round of diplomatic talks this week on eastern Ladakh with a focus on moving forward in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.
'The missile mounted near Kailash-Mansarovar is called DF-21. It is a medium-range, 2,200 kilometres ballistic missile. Its advantage is that it can cover all cities of north India, including New Delhi'
The Chinese activity at an air base near the Barahoti area has also gone up and a large number of drones have been deployed by them there, they said.
The CAG had taken a strong objection to the long delays by the BRO in constructing 61 strategically important roads.
However, Beijing expresses readiness for talks to reopen the Nathu La pass for the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.
"The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas," the Army said in a statement.
'It is an unpleasant fact of history that stronger nations dominate the power play and the only way it can be mitigated is through recourse to diplomacy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
China on Friday hiked its defence budget to $209 billion, maintaining a single-digit growth for the sixth consecutive year with a 6.8 per cent increase in 2021.
....a long-term boundary agreement is reached between the two countries.
Gen Naravane said that the Indian Army did not hide casualties during Galwan clash in eastern Ladakh as the Chinse have done.
The entire gamut of China's activities is aimed at keeping India on tenterhooks, cause fatigue to its troops and keeping its security system unstable, so that it cannot play a meaningful role in international geopolitics as an effective partner of the US and Japan, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
In a strong response to China's objection to development of infrastructure on the Indian side of the LAC, New Delhi also asserted that Beijing has no locus standi to comment on India's internal matters.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday defended the Agnipath scheme underlining that the future of youths joining as Agniveers would not be impacted, even as he said the government was 'open' to bring any change in it 'if required'.
The envoy said Japan has been watching the situation "very closely" as it "can affect the stability of the entire region."
The Chinese numbers had surged significantly during the summer season as they brought in a large number of troops for summer training. They have now gone back to their rear locations.
India has made it clear to China that peace and tranquillity in border areas is essential for the development of overall bilateral ties and the relationship has to be based on the 'three mutuals' of respect, sensitivity and interest, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said.
The talks are being held with an aim of resolving the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh and reaching an agreement on the last remaining friction point in the Hot Springs area which had emerged post April-May 2020 aggression shown by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
China on Tuesday urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to stop sowing discord between Beijing and countries in the region, undermining regional peace and stability, amidst his visit to India for a high-level dialogue aimed at further ramping up their overall defence and security ties, and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
Four Chinese soldiers were killed in the fierce clash with the Indian Army in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June last year, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) acknowledged for the first time on Friday.
The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang will travel to India to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting being held in Goa on May 4 and 5, the foreign ministry in Beijing announced on Tuesday.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi during which he emphasised the need for continuing efforts to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas to remove the 'impediments' to normalcy in bilateral relations.
India and China on Saturday held another round of military talks with a focus on taking forward the disengagement process in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh and bring down the tensions in the region, official sources said.
Sources said China has been slowly increasing its troop level in the Doklam Plateau.
India's top military and strategic brass on Tuesday reviewed the overall situation in eastern Ladakh amid indications that the latest round of talks between senior military commanders of Indian and Chinese armies on the next phase of disengagement of troops may not have produced encouraging results, people familiar with the developments said.
The Chinese foreign ministry has informed the Indian Embassy here "they are cognizant of the welfare of all foreign students, including Indian students".
He also said it was important that even during the difficult moments of this "crisis" India has been communicating and engaging with China.
A wide spectrum of drills including surface and anti-aircraft drills, helicopter operations, maneuvers and cross-deck flying was carried out for the second consecutive day as part of the 11th edition of the biennial Indo-Russian exercise Indra Navy.
It also dismissed Jaitley's remarks that India of 2017 is different from what it was in 1962, saying China too is different.
"I am not aware of the information you provided," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing when asked about the reports of the Indian casualties at the contested borders. "Our border troops had a high-level meeting and reached important consensus on easing the border situation but astonishingly, on June 15, the Indian troops seriously violated our consensus and twice crossed the border line for illegal activities and provoked and attacked Chinese personnel which led to serious physical conflict between the two sides and China has lodged strong protest and representation with the Indian side," Zhao said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that during his recent visit to India, he "keenly felt" that both sides had agreed to adhere to the leaders' consensus that the two countries are not a threat to each other and handle and manage their differences.
'We must acknowledge China will use Pakistan against India.' 'We all need to know that these two countries are ready to destabilise India at all times.'
