China and India were able to "reduce differences" and build "some consensus" on disengaging troops from friction points to end the standoff in eastern Ladakh and agreed to maintain dialogue to reach a resolution acceptable to both sides at an "early date", the Chinese defence ministry said on Thursday.
Protests in Mumbai and Jammu denounce the Chinese government after Chinese soldiers clashed with Indian troops in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a bitter standoff at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for over eight weeks since May 5.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
Jaishankar said, "The immediate part which awaits us is what we call the de-escalation, which is the build-up of forces along the Line of Actual Control."
'We are facing the most critical military situation with China in the last 50 years.'
Topics like 'Boycott China', 'Go China' and 'Go Chinese Go' have been trending on Twitter.
'We have to be prepared on the borders to withstand Chinese expansionist designs.'
India and China have implemented a pact on patrolling in Depsang and Demchok along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, as per agreed modalities and timelines. The agreement was reached on October 21 and includes provisions for disengagement and patrolling in the last two friction points in the region. The pact has been effected and implemented as agreed, with both sides resuming patrolling activities and grazing, where applicable, as per longstanding practice before the friction began. The terms of the disengagement agreements reached prior to the latest pact continue to hold in relevant areas in eastern Ladakh. The agreement applies mutually to both sides and is without prejudice to India's positions on the LAC or boundary lines. India and China are each carrying out one round of patrolling in Depsang and Demchok, but they have maintained their deployment of troops along the LAC. The focus now is on de-escalation of the overall situation. The agreement was endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in a meeting in Kazan, Russia, signaling attempts to normalize ties.
The India Army troops rose to the occasion to the challenges along the northern border as likely contingencies and possible options were war-gamed beforehand, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Wednesday, referring to the eastern Ladakh standoff with China.
The sources said the situation in eastern Ladakh remained 'tense' and that around 30-40 soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) are holding up at a position close to an Indian post in the Rezang-La ridgeline in eastern Ladakh.
The incident had taken place at a time when the Indian Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar, was in Moscow for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, where he met his Chinese counterpart to address the border issues.
The Army on Tuesday said it was prepared to give an appropriate response to any adverse aggressive designs of China in the Ladakh sector, maintaining that the integrity of the country was being ensured through physical patrolling and technical means.
Troops of India and China were locked in a standoff in Doklam from June 16, 2017 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army.
According to the Ministry of National Defence, the planes included six J-11 fighter jets, six J-16 fighter jets, two Xi'an H-6 bombers, two KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft, one Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane, and one Shaanxi Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft, reported Taiwan News.
The attack is the latest in a string of violence in Pakistan. It comes less ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's summit to be held in the national capital.
Sources said the Indian delegation was warmly greeted by senior officials of the Chinese Army before the talks began.
"Today there is a government in the country which cannot compromise even on one inch of the country's borders," the prime minister added.
The explosion ripped through the provincial capital Quetta's railway station as passengers gathered on the platform before the scheduled departure of the Jaffar Express to Peshawar.
"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.
There seems to be a desire for opacity when it comes to confronting China, points out Aakar Patel.
'China will do everything to hamper our ability to be a competitor.' 'China wants every country in the region to be subservient and we are the biggest stumbling block.'
The enhancement of combat capability by the two armies in the region came even as both the countries continued their efforts to resolve the dispute through talks at military and diplomatic levels.
'I was exhausted, hungry, unshaven and despondent.' 'My mouth was full of sores due to dehydration.' 'My clothes were in tatters due to walking through bushes and sliding down thorny slopes,' Brigadier John Parshuram Dalvi wrote of his capture during the 1962 War.
'The next war will be fought by China-Pakistan against India and we have to fully be prepared. We must read the writing on the wall.'
"As regards reports about a bridge being made by the Chinese side on Pangong Lake, the government has been monitoring this activity closely," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
While Indian Army soldiers are engaged in a standoff with the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Ladakh, the army's Eastern Army commanders are taking no chances in Arunachal Pradesh.
This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months.
In underlining the role of border villages as custodians of India's frontiers, New Delhi is following China's example in Tibet.
As tension escalated at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the sources said around 50-60 soldiers of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) approached the Indian post in the southern bank of Pangon lake area at around 6 pm but the Indian Army personnel posted there strongly confronted them, forcing their retreat.
Jaishankar said that both sides also exchanged views on the next steps in the India-China bilateral ties.
"We hope the Indian side will move towards China and through concrete actions implement the consensus and continue the close communication through military and diplomatic channels to jointly push for the de-escalation on the border region," Zhao said.
There are apprehensions about the possibility of the vessel's tracking systems attempting to snoop on Indian installations while being on its way to the Sri Lankan port.
General Zhao Zongqi is well known in India for having commanded the Chinese troops during the Dokalam episode. Zhao knows every inch and corner of the Indian border, at least the Eastern and Central sectors, including the Naku La area which witnessed fist-fights between Indian and Chinese troops in April/May. Claude Arpi introduces us to the PLA generals masterminding the Chinese aggression in Ladakh.
The southern deep-sea port of Hambantota is considered strategically important for its location.
India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic height near Pangong lake's southern bank.
The Chinese aircraft have been regularly flying close to the LAC in the last three to four weeks which is seen as an attempt to probe the Indian defence mechanism in the area.
This is the first time in decades that China has made its flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile public in an apparent show of strategic deterrence, State-run China Daily reported.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to call another high-level meeting later today, they added.
After making incursion bids in Ladakh through land route, Chinese troops have made several attempts to enter Indian waters at Pangong lake nestled in the higher reaches of Ladakh with the latest incident reported on Friday.
