The Chinese and the Indian troops were engaged in a standoff for 73 days in Doklam.
The government on Friday expressed deep concern over China constructing a road in the disputed Doklam area near Sikkim
'Both sides had candid and in-depth discussions over easing the current border situation and reached positive common understandings,' it said. 'Both sides welcomed the progress achieved in the recent military and diplomatic meetings, agreed to stay in dialogue and consultation, and stressed the importance to promptly act on the consensus reached in the commander-level talks between Chinese and Indian border troops, and complete disengagement of the front-line troops as soon as possible,' it said.
Sources also asserted that there was a "status quo" at the Dokalam for past six weeks.
As the border standoff entered the sixth month, an early resolution to the row appeared dim with close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops remaining deployed in the high-altitude region and showing readiness for a long-haul. There is no official word on the talks yet but sources said the agenda was to finalise a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points.
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
Special envoys of China, Russia and Pakistan have met the top officials of the Taliban's interim government as well as Afghan leaders Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul and discussed the formation of an inclusive government, combating terrorism and humanitarian situation, a top Chinese official said on Wednesday.
While the de-escalation process was underway, a violent face-off took place on Monday night between Indian and Chinese troops leading to the death of 20 Indian soldiers.
China on Wednesday criticised United States President George W Bush's high-profile meeting with the Dalai Lama, saying that Washington's bid to meddle in its internal affairs was doomed to fail. Terming the meeting as "gross interference in China's internal affairs", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said it has severely violated the basic norms of international relations and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people.
China on Tuesday alleged that US billionaire Elon Musk-owned SpaceX's satellites had two 'close encounters' with its space station in orbit, and has complained to the United Nations about the incidents which endangered the safety of the Chinese astronauts.
In what is seen as the first sign of China's exasperation over Russia's Ukraine war, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday raised 'questions and concerns' over the conflict in his meeting in Samarkand with Russian President Vladimir Putin who thanked Beijing for its 'balanced position' on the crisis.
United States President-elect Joe Biden administration is likely to be as tough as President Donald Trump's on the several contentious issues between Washington and Beijing such as the South China Sea, South China Morning Post reported citing experts.
"India and China, besides being neighbours are partners rather than competitors," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu told reporters answering questions on Wen's forthcoming visit to New Delhi.
This is her first visit to Beijing after she took over the office last year.
China is going to be an indispensable partner in Russia's ongoing crisis with the US, while on its part, China cannot remain indifferent if Russia gets crushed by the US, lest it loses 'strategic depth', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint and do more to improve their bilateral relations'
However, there is no official word on whether there will be any interaction between Modi and Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain, who is scheduled to attend the meeting in China.
China on Tuesday urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to stop sowing discord between Beijing and countries in the region, undermining regional peace and stability, amidst his visit to India for a high-level dialogue aimed at further ramping up their overall defence and security ties, and boost strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.
The five youths had gone missing on Friday from the Sino-Indian border in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The only way to resolve the current military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh was for Beijing to realise that trying to 'change the status quo by resorting to force or coercion, is not the right way forward', India's ambassador to China Vikram Misri said in a hard-hitting interview to PTI.
The US has been, historically, a sleeping partner in India-China relations. Today, any attempt by the Modi government to make a bilateral move to improve relations with Beijing could upset Biden's apple cart, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Trump on Wednesday said in a tweet that he was "ready, willing and able to mediate" between the two countries.
Amid growing concerns over the spurt in COVID-19 cases in China and some other countries, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the focus is to ensure that no unknown variant of the virus enters India and at the same time there is no impediment to travelling.
The MEA said there has not been any change in India's position on the LAC and the mutual redeployment as a result of the disengagement process should not be misrepresented.
The comments came in the backdrop of the continuing standoff between the militaries of India and China at the LAC.
'All PoWs recounted that one of the worst aspects of their captivity in Tibet was the constant attempt at brainwashing by Chinese Communist propaganda,' reveals Claude Arpi.
China's Ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui said the event was just the first step in Sino-India cooperation on Afghanistan and collaboration will deepen in future.
Maintaining that its strategic capabilities were not targeted against any particular country, India has said that it abides by all applicable international obligations and expects others do the same, while responding to Chinese reaction to its test-firing of Agni V missile.
'A breakthrough in eastern Ladakh leading to disengagement and creation of a buffer zone will obviate the need of military deployment through the winter months ahead,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan this week and discuss issues of strategic stability, the situation in the Asia Pacific region and bilateral cooperation within the UN and G20, the Kremlin has announced.
India said it is strongly committed to ensuring its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
'Our record and our actions and stances is fairly clear and by criticising it repeatedly, it doesn't make us less credible'
China, however, remained ambiguous about the status of its own troops.
Raising the Kashmir issue at the UN, China has told the General Assembly that the "dispute" should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and the bilateral agreement. China, a close ally of Pakistan, also stressed that no actions should be taken that would unilaterally change the "status quo".
China on Thursday said its stand on blocking India against UN action on Pakistan was based on "facts" and in the spirit of "objectiveness and fairness".
China's national legislature -- the National People's Congress (NPC) -- on October 23 adopted the new law on the protection and exploitation of the land border areas which drew sharp reaction from India as it was passed amid the protracted military standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh region.
The agenda of the talks will be to firm up a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh, the sources said.
The MEA spokesperson did not reply to questions like whether the US had approached India with the offer, whether New Delhi has communicated its response over it to Washington, DC or whether the Trump administration has been briefed about the current standoff between Chinese and Indian soldiers in eastern Ladakh.
The external affairs ministry said the talks were 'positive'.
