'The adversary will always exploit India's anti-national elements.'
As soon as one lands at the Leh airfield, one can see the Indian Air Force C-17s, Ilyushin-76s, and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft flying in with rations and supplies for the troops deployed on the forward locations opposite the Chinese forces.
Reports (not denied by India) that the USA had 'for the first time provided real-time details to their Indian counterparts on the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion' into Tawang at the LAC in December 2022, helping India thwart China's expansionist designs, show how operationally effective the USA-India friendship has become on the ground. A engaging excerpt from Sreeram Chaulia's must-read new book, Friends: India's Closest Strategic Partners.
This is the first time China has commented on the casualties. Though China has not revealed its casualty figure, there were reports that a commanding officer of the Chinese army was among those killed in the clashes. There is no official confirmation about it.
Gen Pande also said that Indian troops are adequately deployed along the Line of Actual Control to deal with any situation and that guidance has been given to them to "remain firm and resolute" in their tasks.
"How dare China kill our soldiers? How dare they take our land?" he said.
Singhvi said for this government it seems national security is not important.
Lt Gen Dwivedi, who was referring to the clash between the Indian soldiers and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, also said that PLA's aggression in eastern Ladakh was met with "swift mobilisation and appropriate force posturing".
The visit comes a week after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a brutal assault by the Chinese military in Galwan Valley which escalated the border tension.
The meeting is taking place under the shadow of a fierce border row between India and China, both members of the influential bloc.
Northern Army commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Friday said the situation along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh was stable but in a state of "heightened alert" and asserted that there would be no security lapse on fronts of "operational preparedness and readiness" along the India-China border.
The sources said Singh will carry out a comprehensive review of the security situation in the region with Gen Naravane, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Yogesh Kumar Joshi, Commander of the 14 Corps Lt Gen Harinder Singh and other senior army officials.
This was the first round of talks for Wang after he succeeded State Councillor Yang Jiechi earlier this year.
The experts also said China's military 'misadventure' may have been driven in part by President Xi Jinping's attempt to show 'gains somewhere" after the growing global criticism against his country over the origin of COVID-19.
Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane on Friday visited several forward areas in eastern Ladakh and carried out a comprehensive review of India's operational preparedness in the backdrop of its prolonged military standoff with China in the mountainous region.
It will be the first high-level meeting between the two sides after the border row escalated in eastern Ladakh in early May.
In a surprise development, a top Chinese military general has cast aspersions on the People's Liberation Army (PLA)'s much-publicised 'real combat-oriented exercises' as 'fake combat capabilities' at a time when Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered it to prepare for 'maritime military struggles' to win wars.
Twenty personnel of the India-China LAC guarding Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force have been awarded gallantry medals for displaying bravery during standoff and clashes between militaries of the two countries in the eastern Ladakh region last year.
The deployment of strategic bomber aircraft is also still on by the Chinese
If the initial analysis of this YJ-21 is correct, then China becomes the first country in the world to operationally field such a missile from a naval vessel.
A policeman was also injured in the gunfight that broke out in Bajaad village in the Gandoh area around 9:50 am.
Responding to Conservative Party MP Flick Drummond on the implications for British interests of a dispute between a 'Commonwealth member and the world's largest democracy on the one side, and a state that challenges our notion of democracy on the other,' he described the escalation in eastern Ladakh as "a very serious and worrying situation", which the UK is "monitoring closely".
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday chose Lt Gen Asim Munir as the new Army chief to replace incumbent General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Describing the situation along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh as "well under control", a top army commander on Friday said the force is committed to launch "intelligence specific and people friendly" operations to counter the ongoing proxy war in Jammu and Kashmir.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends 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.
Each time an Indian minister visits Arunachal Pradesh, the tinpot Communists in Beijing's Zhongnanhai get worked up and mutter threats.
The Indian Army's Shatrujeet brigade is conducting an airborne exercise along the northern borders in eastern Ladakh to validate its rapid response capabilities, sources said on Monday.
Considering the vehement anti-China stance across the nation after the Galwan incident of June 15/16, there was barely a squeal of outrage about the Dhoni-OPPO tie-up on social media, barring a couple of tweets.
Two days after the India-China military talks, the joint statement, issued in New Delhi by the Indian Army said both sides had a 'candid and in-depth exchange' relating to disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of India-China border areas.
'Chinese troops are not geared to fight Indian troops who are battle hardened and acclimatised and are far more hardy.'
"The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is mala fide," the army said in a statement. It said differences between the two sides are being addressed through interaction between military commanders following established protocols on management of border between the two countries.
Negotiations are underway to have a "more practical and effective" mechanism to prevent face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops on the Line of Actual Control and efforts are being made to have confidence building measures, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday.
The Indian Army has ordered a probe into an alleged case of a data breach in the northern command after a soldier was found to be passing data to Pakistani operatives.
The sources said the mutual disengagement of troops at the two friction points is likely to be completed within two days, and that there has been 'substantial' withdrawal of forces by Chinese military from the areas.
India has already mobilised fighter jets and sent thousands of additional army troops to forward locations along the border with China after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a brutal attack by Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on June 15.
The MEA said the two sides shared their perspectives on the matter in the talks held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere.
Gen Naravane said India is dealing with China in a "firm" and "non-escalatory" manner to ensure the sanctity of its claims in eastern Ladakh, and that it was even open to initiating confidence-building measures.
'It is a breathtaking journey towards the Tibet border, especially since the Border Road Organisation has accomplished a fabulous feat in black-topping the road till the border.' 'One is left with a salute for the dauntless Indian soldiers who spend the winter in these majestic, though inhospitable areas (we were told that the temperature comes down to minus 40 in winter),' recounts Claude Arpi.
As the military standoff between India and China drags on along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the talks between the two sides are going on well and indicated hope for a resolution of the lingering row.
