The Indian Army maintains a strict vigil in the Pangong Tso theatre, ever attentive for sneaky Chinese intrusions.
The Indian Army will not let China change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) "unilaterally" and its current deployment along the frontier was not seen before, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, rejecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the government's handling of the border row.
Jaishankar said that both sides also exchanged views on the next steps in the India-China bilateral ties.
The army made the comments as part of a statement trashing a media report that said the Chinese military has again crossed the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh at several places and that there has been at least one incident of clash between the two sides.
Lou also spoke about China's tensions with neighbouring countries without directly mentioning the eastern Ladakh border standoff with India since May 2020 which resulted in the Galwan Valley clash in June of that year.
'It is a game of patience. We have to stand firm and tire them out, which we are doing.'
The Indian Army has shown it can face down the PLA, but is too often held back by a political leadership that lacks boldness, asserts Ajai Shukla.
'Our athletes, coaches and support staff, will wear unbranded apparel.'
'China did not expect India to show such strategic resolve in defending its territorial integrity.'
In an open letter, the Confederation of All India Traders has appealed to Aamir Khan, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif, Virat Kohli and others to stop endorsing Chinese products. It has also invited Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, Madhuri Dixit, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and others to join the campaign to boycott Chinese products under its flagship national movement 'Bharatiya Saaman-Hamara Abhiman'.
The Chinese activity at an air base near the Barahoti area has also gone up and a large number of drones have been deployed by them there, they said.
Nepal raised objection to India's newly-inaugurated road linking Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand.
Addressing his first rally during the Bihar assembly elections, Gandhi insisted the Chinese army had indeed intruded into Indian territory. "They have seized 1,200 km of our land. But when the Chinese army intruded, why did our prime minister insult our soldiers by saying that nobody entered into the Indian side?" he said.
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan appealed to people to boycott products from China and also directed officials of his ministry not to procure any Chinese products for day-to-day office use while his ministerial colleague Ramdas Athawale said all restaurants and hotels that sell Chinese food in India should be closed down.
It said alongside the village is a neatly marked all-weather carriageway, which is part of China's "extensive land grab" in Bhutan.
India on Monday announced it has reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff ahead of a likely meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Russia this week.
The Indian Army is looking at deploying over 350 light tanks, mostly in the mountainous border areas.
The nearly five-minute video captured glimpses of the lives of soldiers deployed along the ice-capped mountains of the high-altitude region including their round-the-clock vigil, training and combat readiness to deal with any threat.
The capture of the Chinese soldier comes in the midst of an eight-month-long bitter border standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.
The relations between India and China cannot be normal if peace and tranquillity in border areas are disturbed, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.
'The Chinese can't be trusted hence the need to verify and re-verify.'
'The use of military power to settle disputes is not always preferred and is the last preferred option, but it certainly remains an option.'
Top commanders of the Indian Army on Monday carried out a comprehensive review of the country's security challenges, including in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, on the opening day of a four-day conference, people familiar with the developments said.
This is the first such incident along the border with China that Indian armed forces personnel have been killed after a gap of nearly 45 years.
Jaishankar said India had agreements with China not to mass force in the border areas.
The balloon, which was being used by the People's Republic of China in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above US territorial waters.
The Eastern Army commander said that there were some minor injuries to soldiers on both sides.
Recalling the Galwan incident, he said the bravery, valour and restraint shown by the Indian Army are incomparable and unparalleled.
'We must understand that the LAC is a political issue for China, so any action on the LAC will keep India focussed on the LAC which gives China the opportunity for any adventurism in the Indian Ocean.'
The exercise was aimed at validating joint plans for strategic airlift of specialised forces employing IAF's fixed and rotary wing platforms by landing and dropping in designated areas for undertaking kinetic actions, they said.
Her comments come a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Geneva that roughly 75 percent of the "disengagement problems" with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier.
China is expanding its nuclear force and is likely to have a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, up from the current estimated number of 400, the Pentagon has said in a report that notes that Beijing aims to expand its national power through both domestic and foreign policy initiatives.
On Thursday, the Chinese military published its ICBM launch photos, shedding its secrecy.
Taipei on Friday termed China's military exercises around the island nation 'highly provocative' after some Chinese aircraft and warships crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
The move comes amid reports in a section of media that claimed that Chinese soldiers had displayed their flag in the region a few days ago.
The chief was also briefed extensively about the air maintenance operations in support of the Indian Army and the paramilitary troops there.
"When we have something to share, we will share. Discussions are ongoing," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said replying to a volley of questions on whether India and China are working on specific proposals to resolve the over six-month-long row in eastern Ladakh.
Rubbishing the chances of a repeat of the 1962 Sino-Indian war which China won, Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor on Tuesday said the Army was capable of defending Indian territory and warding off any aggression"The charter of the Army is to defend Indian territory at all costs. This talk of a repeat of 1962 is totally incorrect and uncalled for," he said.The Army, Kapoor said, had the requisite capability to defend the Indian territory.
Xu, 60, is expected to travel to New Delhi soon to take over his new posting.
Top commanders of the Army on Thursday carried out a comprehensive review of India's overall security challenges including in eastern Ladakh as well as other sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control with China on the first day of a two-day conference, people familiar with the development said.
