Sources said the Indian delegation was warmly greeted by senior officials of the Chinese Army before the talks began.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
One can only sincerely wish the Dalai Lama a very long life at the service of world peace. His presence is much required today on the planet, notes Claude Arpi, who has known His Holiness for more than half a century.
China on Monday conducted day-long large-scale military drills aimed at surrounding Taiwan by deploying an aircraft carrier group, besides army, navy, air force and missile forces, in an apparent response to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's remarks that Beijing has no authority to represent Taipei.
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.
On development of infrastructure by China in border areas, the Army chief said it is going on unabated.
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.
"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.
The two sides had started coordinated patrols in the first week of the month after completing disengagement in both Demchok and Depsang in the last week of October.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday denied any incursion by China's People's Liberation Army in Taksing area of Arunachal Pradesh in recent times.
Chief of Army staff General Deepak Kapoor said on Saturday that there has been no increase in Chinese incursions along the Sino-Indian border.
"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.
Xi is widely expected to continue in power for life.
So far, the Central Sector has never seen active hostilities, remaining peaceful even through the 1962 war. A reason for the Central Sector having remained peaceful is the towering Himalayan watershed that defines the border.
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.
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.
Protests in Mumbai and Jammu denounce the Chinese government after Chinese soldiers clashed with Indian troops in Arunachal Pradesh.
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.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told the media in Beijing on Monday that the two sides held an in-depth exchange of views on expediting the resolution of relevant issues.
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.
"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.
India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic height near Pangong lake's southern bank.
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.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to call another high-level meeting later today, they added.
Chinese People's Liberation Army recently made a two-pronged simultaneous incursion by sending its troops into Indian waters in the Pangong lake as well as five km deep into Indian territory through the land route in the same area, according to reports.
The major general-level meeting discussed ways to implement the disengagement of troops from Galwan Valley as agreed during high-level military talks between the two sides on June 6. The Indian delegation at the talks was led by Leh-based 3 Infantry Division commander Major General Abhijit Bapat. The two sides held Major General-level talks on Tuesday as well.
This move is seen as part of efforts to strengthen China's ties with Pakistan and safeguard Chinese investments in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, particularly related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
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.
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.
'We have to be prepared on the borders to withstand Chinese expansionist designs.'
There seems to be a desire for opacity when it comes to confronting China, points out Aakar Patel.
'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.
Following the disengagement, both sides will soon start the coordinated patrolling in their respective areas, sources added.
'The Chinese thought India would back off. 'They did not expect such a firm Indian response to their expansionist manoeuvre.'
The Army Chief replied in the affirmative when asked by the moderator whether he concurs with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks after the border standoff that the Chinese have not come into control of Indian territory.
'Pakistan is a nuclear country.' 'With the kind of situation that is there in Pakistan today, America will help Pakistan stay afloat.'
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.
Chinese state-sponsored hackers had targeted India's power grids in Ladakh possibly for information on India's critical infrastructure or to prepare for sabotage in the future, according to the American cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
On Saturday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the media in New Delhi that the Indian Army has commenced verification patrolling at Depsang, the second friction point in eastern Ladakh.
China does not have to give up what it took in 2020, it will never give up its claim to Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and other areas, and it has all the time now to plan its next surprise, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
