In his initial remarks, Army Chief General M M Naravane briefed the commanders about the overall situation following which detailed discussions on the matter took place, the sources said.
'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.'
NCP president Sharad Pawar on Friday said there should be a presentation by the government on what is happening on the India-China border, particularly in Ladakh, where the armies of the two countries are involved in a face-off. Pawar, who is in the national capital to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, said there are other defence-related issues on the table for discussion, but he will make a request that a presentation is made on it.
After the attack on the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot on January 2, India in February wrote to the UN calling for immediate action to list Azhar under the Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee.
On the occasion of Chinese New Year, we bring you a look at what 2015, the Year of the Sheep has in store for you!
The failure to restructure our armed forces in line with contemporary needs 14 years after the Kargil war will impose strategic costs beyond just delays and scandals, says Nitin Pai
'Our strategy should be to 'hold the line' in the north on the Sino-Indian land frontier, but maintain and, if possible, enlarge India's current edge in the maritime south.'
'With Punjab and Kashmir in flames, it would not have been politically wise to alienate the West.' 'It would have inclined Western countries towards Pakistan.' 'It would have been a self-goal.'
The decision to disengage the forces, locked in a bitter standoff for the last six weeks in eastern Ladakh, was taken at a nearly 11-hour-long meeting between senior Indian and Chinese commanders in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday.
The US government was readying a strategy should India smash military power of West Pakistan.
Recalling the 1962 War, Napalchayal said when Chinese troops reached near the Darma, Vyas and Johar valleys in the district, villagers helped the Army carry ammunition and food to border posts on sheep and mules.
'Unquestionably, the spirit behind the Panchsheel agreement and the 'Hindi Chini bhai bhai' slogan were thrown overboard by the Chinese, and a trust deficit was injected between the two nations.' A revealing excerpt from General J J Singh's The McMahon Line: A Century Of Discord.
Pakistan is negotiating with Russia on acquiring an unspecified number of Su-35 'Flanker-E' multi-role fighter aircraft in potentially the largest military deal between the two Cold War-era adversaries, according to a leading defence weekly.
When China protested strongly over the August decision on J&K -- not once but twice -- we ignored it. And to compound matters, we simply turned our back and walked over to the 'Quad' alliance with the US, upgrading it to ministerial level, and thereafter began following the American footfalls on Taiwan and COVID-19 to taunt and humiliate Beijing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The defence minister needs to focus on human resources-related issues at the same pace in 2017 as he did on acquisitions in 2016,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said troops from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'violated' the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements on the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
'India is not the India of 1962. We are not carrying that baggage of history anymore.'
'The Chinese have taken to telling their Indian interlocutors to bear in mind the 5:1 disparity in the sizes of the two economies.' 'The message from Beijing, says T N Ninan, is clear: Acknowledge superior Chinese power, and behave accordingly.'
Talking about the Line of Actual Control, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said as it is not completely demarcated, there are differing perceptions about it by both sides.
'The Chinese mindset and approach to India is far different from that in Pakistan.' 'This reality makes it possible for us to follow an engagement policy with one, while militating against engagement with the other.'
'There's a cycle of fear where everyone fears each other. We are keeping a distance from everyone,' says Ashish Yadav, an associate professor at Wuhan Textile University. The professor along with his wife Neha Yadav, a resident of Etah in Uttar Pradesh have been stranded since January 22 at their home inside Wuhan University, the epicentre of the coronavirus, which has now killed more than 2,000 people in China alone. The couple had earlier appealed to the government to rescue them and wait eagerly for that Air India plane to come and evacuate them from the living nightmare. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf over the phone, hear their story in their own words.
The focus of the deliberations was on finalising modalities for disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh.
In a few years from now, India will be looking at an entirely different type of military adversary across the borders, in our waters, in the air, in space and in our communication networks, says Nitin Pai.
Was Wang Yi'S visit intended to remind India of 1962, asks Claude Arpi?
During the course of the intense and complex negotiations between senior commanders of the two armies that ended at 2 am on Wednesday, the Indian delegation also apprised the Chinese PLA about the "red lines" and conveyed that the onus was largely on China to improve the overall situation in the region, the sources said.
It will be for the first time since Independence that India and Pakistan will both be part of a military exercise.
The highly-anticipated summit, which began early Tuesday, is the third engagement between Xi, 68, and Biden, 78, since February.
Mere shuffling of resources or cosmetic changes to prove a point would be counterproductive in the long run, observes Commodore Venugoptal Menon (retd).
'Assuming the official defence allocations represent the true picture, the $142 billion figure still represents a phenomenal increase and surpasses that of Japan ($42 billion), India ($40 billion), South Korea ($33 billion) and several other Asian countries put together and shows that China is flexing its military muscle.'
Curtains will fall on the Rim of the Pacific 2016, the world's largest international maritime exercise, on August 4.
Singh said if there is an attempt to hurt the self-respect of India, then it will not be tolerated and will be given a 'befitting reply'. "Whatever progress has been made in the talks, there should be a resolution of the matter. But to what extent it will be resolved, I cannot guarantee."
India has the ability in all respects to be a great power and address our security challenges in the best national interests, says Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The two armies had mutually decided not to resort to use firearms during face-offs in sync with provisions of two agreements on border management.
This is probably the first time Rahul Gandhi is attending this committee's meeting since being nominated to the panel last year after Lok Sabha elections.
A Thai satellite has spotted hundreds of floating objects in southern Indian Ocean that could possibly be the debris of the crashed Malaysian plane, even as bad weather on Thursday grounded multination aerial search for the aircraft's wreckage.
'The one aspect which no Indian military thinker would wish to see emerge is a LoC type of posture at the LAC.' 'The LoC is manned for 750 km and terrorist infiltration has led to the creation of a virtual fortress along its entire length.' 'Something mirroring this at the LAC is going to be expensive although deployment everywhere is not warranted there.' 'However, given the complete trust deficit, there appear few alternatives,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Ajit Balakrishnan offers a thinking man's guide to the state of ecom in a nation of shopkeepers.
'You have been surrounded from all directions, if you want the safety of your troops and your personal safety, we will give you eight hours to make up your mind to surrender.'
When questioned about the absence of any mention of the Indian Navy's role in the operation, Hua said China's ministry of defence should be approached for details.
"We estimate that Pakistan now has a nuclear weapons stockpile of 130-140 warheads. This stockpile exceeds the projection made by the US Defense Intelligence Agency in 1999 that Pakistan by 2020 would have 60-80 warheads," said the report released last month.
