China on Saturday said it "expelled" foreign military planes from its airspace, the first such incident after Beijing unilaterally declared an air defence zone over islands disputed with Japan in the East China Sea.
The sources said the ongoing engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic levels have resulted in complete disengagement of troops at patrolling point 14, 15 and 17 A in eastern Ladakh.
'The emerging security environment in the Asia-Pacific is likely to revolve around China and the US with India viewed as a critical balancer in the region. New Delhi will now have to demonstrate that it is capable of thinking strategically.'
'We should not allow ourselves to be surprised in any manner in future on the border.'
'They cannot use firearms.' 'They have to be restrained.' 'It is a game of patience and chess board moves.' 'It is not like India and Pakistan where bullets get fired and people get killed.'
As tensions prevailed with Philippines over the disputed South China Sea, China on Thursday asked Manila to remove its naval vessels "immediately" from a contentious lagoon where ships of the two countries were locked in an uneasy standoff.
Special Representatives of China and India have held 19 rounds of talks to resolve the boundary issue.
Talks between the two sides were held on June 6 at the military commanders' level, including the 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh from the Indian side while the Chinese side was represented by its South Xinjiang Military District commander Major General Liu Lin at Moldo opposite Chushul in Ladakh.
Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong has said peace and tranquility in the border areas with India is important but it is not the "whole story" of the bilateral relations and that the current status of the ties is obviously not in the fundamental interest of either side, remarks that came amid the Ladakh military standoff.
The use of the strategic road by the Indian security forces from Leh has helped in reducing the travel time between Leh and DBO to six hours.
'Only when China treats India as an equal can we consider them real friends.'
On development of infrastructure by China in border areas, the Army chief said it is going on unabated.
The deliberations focused on bringing down tension along the disputed borders and ways to bridge the trust deficit.
The IMF on Tuesday projected a growth rate of 6.1 per cent for India in 2023, which is a 0.2 percentage point upward revision compared with the April projection. This is reflective of the "momentum" from stronger-than-expected growth in the fourth quarter of 2022 as a result of stronger domestic investment, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. "Growth in India is projected at 6.1 per cent in 2023, a 0.2 percentage point upward revision compared with the April projection," it said in its latest update of the World Economic Outlook.
The Chinese envoy said that the India-China bilateral ties can't take the strain of another Doklam episode
The Indian Army's Northern Command would be stretched if all three of the corps under it -- based in Leh, Srinagar, and Nagrota (near Jammu) -- were to face hostilities, notes David Devadas.
"A strict vigil is being maintained in almost all the sectors with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh as the Chinese suffered a setback in the southern Pangong Tso area and may try to make fresh attempts to ingress into newer dormant areas," government sources told ANI.
Welcoming Jaishankar, Foreign Minister Wang referred to the Indo-Pak tensions without directly mentioning about India scrapping the Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Pentagon has sought direct dialogue between India and China 'free of any coercive aspects'.
As soon as one lands at the Leh airfield, one can see the Indian Air Force C-17s, Ilyushin-76s, and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flying in with rations and supplies for the troops deployed on the forward locations opposite the Chinese forces.
The summit is also being attended by Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and leaders of several central Asian countries.
'Unlike the Chinese army that has been largely a peace time force, the Indian Army is a battle hardened force,' explains Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Lieutenant General Wei Fenghe's, China's new defence minister's, first guest of honour could be his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman.
The IAF has deployed almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the Line of Actual Control.
India on Thursday said it keeps a constant watch on all developments having bearing on national security, three days after new satellite images indicated the construction of a Chinese village east of the Doklam plateau on the Bhutanese side.
India brought in more troops after the destruction of two of its bunkers and "aggressive tactics" adopted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army
'For this kind of informal summit, I think it is better to leave the leaders much time to discuss whatever they would like to discuss'
'The Chinese forces in the narrow Chumbi Valley are currently in the line of sight and fire of Indian forces poised on the ridges along the Sikkim-Tibet border.' 'Aware of this vulnerability, the Chinese have been eyeing the Doklam plateau,' explains national security expert Nitin A Gokhale.
Having the ITBP and the Army at the same operational location will resolve these issues as well, the sources said.
The meeting, which comes after the Doklam standoff, is aimed at a working a new paradigm for the bilateral relations for the next 15 years.
China's Navy wants to join hands with India to maintain security of the Indian Ocean
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged on Monday to build trust with India and declared that ties between the Asian giants were key to world peace as he visited New Delhi only weeks after a standoff in Ladakh.
This is not for the first time that the Dalai Lama is visiting a border region as he had visited Ladakh as well Arunachal Pradesh several times in the past, the functionary said.
He alleged that India "lost access to 26 out of 65 Patrolling Points" which was not the case before May 2020, and questioned the Modi government's "silence" on the issue.
"Whatever we are doing is in close coordination and synergy with the army and the Indian Air Force to produce desired results," he said.
The Chinese have only created limited defences for protection of their posts which are located well in depth and much away from the Line of Actual Control, notes Colonel S Dinny (retd).
Singh also said that Indian security forces were capable of defending the country's territories.
Rejecting mounting US calls to allow the yuan to rise more quickly, Zhong said changing the exchange rate was not the way to fix a huge bilateral trade gap, and that it could upset the global economy.
The Chinese government had "planned" the Galwan incident in June even as Beijing ramped up its multiyear coercion campaign against its neighbours, provoking military or paramilitary standoffs with countries from Japan to India, the United States top panel said in its report released on Wednesday.
'China physically occupies about 45,000 sq km of J&K as claimed by India, including 3,000 sq km captured in the 1962 War and never returned; and 5,180 sq km ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963.' 'It is hard to justify remaining silent about the return of China occupied Ladakh,' observes Ajay Shukla.
