French President Nicholas Sarkozy on Saturday became the first western leader to bluntly threaten it with a boycott of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony amid another bloody flare up in Tibet. The United States, European Union and Australia have been piling pressure on China to immediately open dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, eight people have been killed in fresh riots in the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Garze.
With 150,000 Tibetan citizens living in exile on its soil, many of whom shuttle between India and Tibet frequently, India nevertheless has a role in the resolution of this issue. Also, with Tibet under its control China has become India's Himalayan neighbour
Leading Chinese intellectuals and writers have released a petition that suggests twelve ways to deal with the Tibet crisis. The petition, which indicates a major shift in the intellectual scene of China, has appeared on several websites. The petition states, "Chinese voices are being raised in China in response to the way Beijing has handled the protests that began on March 10." The letter is signed by 29 signatories and displays courage on their part.
Bush said America had a 'strong commitment to support the preservation of Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity'.
The intrusions into India were likely carried out by the PLA's better trained and equipped 'mobile operational units'.
'Over the years, India has taken great strides in many fields, especially in the context of science and technology. Yet even as external disarmament is necessary, inner disarmament is no less important'
Military officials said India is also strengthening its surveillance mechanism to keep an eye on Chinese activities along the borders in the strategically sensitive Tibetan region and has even been regularly deploying choppers to carry out recce.
A village built by China along the Line of Actual Control in the Arunachal Pradesh sector and mentioned in a recent Pentagon report, is in territory controlled by that country, sources in the security establishment in New Delhi said on Tuesday.
'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!'
The Chinese aren't after territory. Their target is our national will, morale and the sense of autonomy we feel in making our strategic choices. They are attacking India and the Modi government at their weakest point, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'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.
The water was likely to reach Rampur on the Indo-Tibet border by evening, Chief Minister Veerbhadra Singh told reporters.
Overall, the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has focused on building ground-based air defense networks and network-centric operations rather than trying to match the Indian Air Force (IAF) in terms of straight fighter numbers along the border. All air assets fall under the Western Theater Command of the PLA, the largest geographic region of China's five military theater commands.
The official names of the 11 places were released on Sunday by the ministry, which also gave precise coordinates, including two land areas, two residential areas, five mountain peaks and two rivers and listed the category of places' names and their subordinate administrative districts, state-run Global Times reported on Monday.
From March 1959 to March 1962, the PLA fought 12 major battles in central Tibet which was seen as an opportunity to train China's soldiers, notes Ajai Shukla.
The sources said the exercise was a routine military drill by China.
Campaigns Coordinator of Friends of Tibet Shibayan Raha and another activist Migmar Tsering were demanding the release of Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, the second most important religious figure.
The onus today is on China, but it also requires a little diplomatic finesse from India, backed by a modernised armed force, argues BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in this excerpt from his new book, Himalayan Challenge: India, China And The Quest For Peace.
'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.
Asked about the reports of the troops on both sides disengaging and moving back to their previous positions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides are taking steps to ease the situation along the borders.
All that India must aim for is to match China's military prowess adjusted to equal Beijing's India-specific military capability, argues Vivek Gumaste.
The BJP-RSS-SS delegation is led by Bal Apte, BJP member of the Rajya Sabha. Ram Madhav, member of the RSS's executive council; Chandan Mitra, editor of Pioneer; Balbir Punj, senior journalist and BJP leader; and Suresh Prabhu, former Union minister and Shiv Sena leader from Maharashtra, are part of the delegation
The Obama administration has made it clear that there has been no change in the United States' policy towards Tibet even as it decides to hold talks with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama after President Barack Obama's visit to China scheduled in November.
India on Thursday described as "unacceptable" China issuing stapled visas to some sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that it reserves the right to "suitably respond" to such actions.
'...and then get scaled down somewhat.' 'It will be difficult for any side to occupy meaningful territories, maybe just a bit here and there, and the destruction may vary on either side.'
'China any day would prefer to team up with India and dump Pakistan once the resolution of the border dispute becomes an accomplished fact.'
China's ambassador to Canada has said the Dalai Lama is a "serial liar" and those who attack China's record on human rights are being irresponsible. "The Dalai Lama has been telling lies to the world for decades," Shumin told journalists at the Chinese Embassy.
In a chapter titled 'Dealing with Kashmir issue' in his much publicised book My Country My Life, Advani also accuses the then Congress government of illegally handing over the Aksai Chin territory to China
Singh visited Tawang on Thursday for the 'Maitree Diwas' celebrations to boost civil-military friendship in the region bordering China.
Denouncing the Dalai Lama as a "splittist," China has accused him of collaborating with the CIA and Indian military to establish the "Indian Tibetan special border troops" to reclaim authority in his Himalayan homeland from Beijing.
The five youths had gone missing on Friday from the Sino-Indian border in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
'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.'
China routinely objects to Indian leaders' visits to Arunachal Pradesh to buttress its stand.
Lu said China will take 'further action' to safeguard its sovereignty.
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.
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.
'Intrusions by PLA troops in the Ladakh sector are more in number than elsewhere and this region is now likely to remain an area of enhanced Chinese interest,' warns China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
A senior discipline inspection official has "lambasted some party officials for allegedly donating money to the 14th Dalai Lama
A wave of self-immolations in protest against the Chinese government, which has rocked regions close to Tibet for several months, has now spread to Lhasa, where two Tibetans for the first time set themselves on fire outside a famous temple, leaving one of them dead. Dargye, from Aba County in the Tibetan area of southwest China's Sichuan province, and Tobgye Tseten, from Xiahe County in northwestern Gansu province, attempted self-immolations at Pargor Street.