The Indian troops guarding the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) maintained an assertive approach in sync with the broader national security doctrine and procured a variety of military platforms and weapons to enhance their combat capabilities.
Markets across the globe gained after China Securities Regulator removed its four-day-old circuit-breaker system.
"The intelligence community and the rest of the government are still looking at this. There's not been a definitive conclusion, so it's difficult for me to say, nor should I feel like I should have to defend press reporting about a possible preliminary indication here," National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told reporters at a daily White House news conference.
China on Thursday told Pakistan's new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that it will always put its "all-weather ally" as a priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy as it praised his commitment to promote the USD 60 billion CPEC initiative.
The legislative amendment was passed on Thursday by voice vote as part of an en bloc (all together as a single unit) amendment during floor consideration of the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA).
China on Thursday voiced its opposition to India's reported plans to hold the next year's meeting of G-20 leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.
'We hope this round of meeting, on the basis of previous meetings, can move forward, further enlarge consensus, narrow differences and work for a solution that is acceptable to both parties,' the spokesperson said in updated comments posted on the ministry's website.
Beijing will be intently watching Washington's response for any hint of weakness. Xi Jinping, who feels China has a limited window of strategic opportunity, will be emboldened to take additional initiatives in the Indo-Pacific and specifically against India and Taiwan, warns Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
"China has been promoting peace and stability in this region. We hope that Pakistan and India will maintain friendly relations," he told a media briefing in Beijing.
"China's position on the Zangnan region (South Tibet) is consistent and clear. We never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing while responding to a question.
Speaking at a press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, "As a staunch defender of cyber security, China firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyber attacks."
Chinese authorities have arrested a suspected agent of the American Central Intelligence Agency in China who apparently worked in the Ministry of State Security, country's main intelligence agency, a media report said on Saturday.
India on Thursday dismissed China's objection to the joint Indo-US military exercise near the Line of Actual Control in Uttarakhand's Auli, saying it did not give a veto to third countries on these issues.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that during his recent visit to India, he "keenly felt" that both sides had agreed to adhere to the leaders' consensus that the two countries are not a threat to each other and handle and manage their differences.
'Why wouldn't so strategically-minded an adversary, such as China, not militarily exploit to the maximum Indian timidity, stupidity, and cupidity all along the LAC and legitimate, as it has done so often in the past, the fait accompli of incremental territorial grabs which, by the way, is its strategy and policy as implemented on the ground?'
In the past, India strongly rejected references made to Jammu and Kashmir in a previous joint statement by Pakistan and China.
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.
Sources in the security establishment said the force is also set to get sanctions from the Union Home ministry to raise at least nine fresh battalions soon. They said in order to bolster troop numbers along the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, as many as 60 companies have been ordered to move towards the front in various areas like Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Lack of infrastructure development in Jammu and Kashmir for decades post Independence was one of the reasons behind the rise of terrorism in the Union territory, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday after unveiling 75 new projects including bridges, roads and helipads in border areas.
'China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante of April 2020.' 'India will have to weigh its options based on this premise.'
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, discussed the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan amidst chaotic airlifts of Afghan civilians and diplomats by the US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries before the August 31 deadline.
According to the Singapore Post, Kiribati a Micronesian country is discussing opening up its largest marine reserves to commercial fishing which may serve a dual purpose like a naval base for the Chinese as well.
Foreign ministers of G20 major economies will meet in the national capital on March 1 and 2 to deliberate on pressing global challenges amid escalating confrontation between Russia and the West over the Ukraine conflict that entered the second year this week.
The remarks by China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, came during an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan on Monday after the sudden and rapid takeover of the Afghanistan government by the Taliban insurgents.
Talks between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to improve the relations got off on a rough note at the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, with Xie launching a blistering attack on Washington, accusing it of being the "owner of coercive diplomacy".
Protests at this time when efforts are underway to strengthen the PLA and keep morale high would be worrying for the military leadership, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and distinguished China expert.
Important for Chinese President Xi Jinping will be Zhao's discussions on the issues of Tibet and the Dalai Lama and his assessment of the likely results of India's coming national elections, notes former senior RA&W officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
Cyber espionage operations dated back to at least 2005
Makki is a US-designated terrorist and brother-in-law of Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
The process to authorise new battalions for the ITBP, guarding the LAC between India and China, is in the last stage and the government is determined to provide transport and logistical support to all security forces, Union Minister Nityanand Rai said on Sunday.
In a statement ahead of his visit to the Indonesian city for the G20 leaders' summit, Modi said he will also highlight India's achievements and its 'unwavering commitment' to collectively address key global issues.
China on Wednesday said it will take "strong and effective" countermeasures against the US and Taiwan for violating the "One-China policy", as the US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi successfully completed her visit to Taipei disregarding Beijing's vociferous threats.
Global Times, the Chinese Communist Party government's mouthpiece, said that the broadcaster is responsible "for falsified reporting" on China's handling of the coronavirus in the country.
We can expect to see more Chinese wolf warrior diplomats on the prowl, in India's neighbourhood, though its mailed fist is not so visible while dealing with India, observes Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
Reports from Tokyo said the Dalai Lama while speaking at an online press conference hosted by the Tokyo Foreign Correspondents Club on Wednesday said, 'I prefer to remain here in India, peacefully', praising the country as a centre of religious harmony.
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.
According to a 2021 Redseer report, India's overseas education market is estimated to more than double to $80 billion by 2024.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating, along with Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga and President of USA Joseph R. Biden, in the first Leaders' Summit of the Quadrilateral Framework, being held virtually on March 12," the MEA said in a statement.
This is the first time Pakistan and Kashmir have been brought into the narrative.
'Given the possibility that our unstable northern and western borders may become 'live' at short notice, any major systemic change which impacts combat effectiveness should be brought about in a cautious and progressive manner.'