China on Friday hiked its defence budget to $209 billion, maintaining a single-digit growth for the sixth consecutive year with a 6.8 per cent increase in 2021.
The Philippines, confronted with Chinese bullying in the South China Sea, have become the first foreign military to order the shore-based, anti-ship cruise missile.
The Fujian was launched at a brief ceremony held at the Shanghai shipyard, the official media reported from the eastern metropolis.
Five villagers from Nacho area of the district, who went for hunting in a jungle were allegedly kidnapped by the PLA.
There is simmering disquiet in the Communist party and the world is watching as to what can unfold in China in the days to come ahead of next year's party congress, notes Rup Narayan Das.
'While China has been hiking its defence spending, India has done precious little in implementing the Manmohan Singh government's decision of raising a 90,000-strong China-centric Mountain Strike Corps,' says Rajeev Sharma.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the need for the recruitment of new talent to support the rapid modernisation of the armed forces and win future wars amid reports that the military has committed more resources to enrol 3 lakh personnel for frontline positions.
'The military officers at China's National People's Congress reflect Xi Jinping's preference for elevating politically reliable, younger, officers with good professional qualifications,' says former RAW officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
Esper also highlighted the 'increased' military cooperation with India and called it as 'one of the most important defence relationships of the 21th century'.
'The MEA, hopefully, made it clear that the Indian PM can't be seen in Xi Jinping's company when China has, for all intents and purposes, annexed over 1,000 sq kms of Indian territory in eastern Ladakh, and essentially that the Wuhan spirit and the Mamallapuram spirit have turned into vinegar.'
'To deal with a bully, you have to deal from a position of strength, not a position of weakness.'
China's National Health Commission in its daily report on Monday said that 2,829 new cases of coronavirus were reported nationwide on February 2, taking the total number of infection to 17,205.
As per the sources, the discussions between the two sides include pulling back tanks and armoured vehicles from their present positions, and some development in this regard is likely to take place in the next few days.
The opinion piece added that the party combines the most striking principles of three major political entities in the world -- the Likud Party of Israel, the Communist Party of China and the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt.
The decisions were mentioned in a joint statement issued by the two armies late Tuesday, a day after the sixth round of Sino-India Corps commander-level talks that lasted for 14-hours.
'However, a lot of preparatory work would have to go in and China must be prepared to announce an end to the standoff by disengaging from the remaining areas along the LAC.'
Will China's new military reforms endanger Xi Jinping's rule?
'There was a wrong policy of government during the Congress regime. They didn't construct roads up to the border which left a buffer zone of 3-4 km which China occupied. Construction of new villages isn't a new thing, it's all inherited from Congress'
'If the Chinese intent is to be gauged based on its aggression in the South China Sea, greater forays in the Indian Ocean, a hawk's attitude towards Taiwan, flying its fighters repeatedly over the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea and creating strategic assets globally, there would be a requirement for strategic partnerships for India,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
India said it is strongly committed to ensuring its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
One priority for Delhi (for the new foreign secretary in particular) is to have an in-depth discussion with Dharamsala as soon as possible, suggests Claude Arpi.
'The committing of the SFF into operations in Ladakh is a signal from New Delhi of how seriously it takes the Chinese intrusions and the lengths India will go to in combating them.'
At a virtual media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said disengagement of troops is a complex process which would require mutually agreed 'reciprocal actions'.
Defence and strategic experts on Monday said that China's posturing in the Indian Ocean will disturb stability and peace in the region.
"It's ironic that Modi visited Tokyo a few days ago and talked about China's expansionism. The key now will be to get beyond such unnecessary controversies and start afresh.'
The seventh round of military talks between India and China held on Monday was "positive and constructive", and both sides agreed to earnestly implement the understanding reached by their leaders to not turn differences into disputes, a joint statement by the two armies said on Tuesday.
After heightened tension in Chumar area in Northeast Ladakh for four days, Chinese troops on Thursday night began withdrawing from the Indian territory, official sources said.
Though it is often said that Indian Railways is the largest employer in the world, but it seems it is not
Sitharaman visited forward army posts in remote Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh bordering China on Sunday to take stock of the defence preparedness.
Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell made the remark on Thursday, adding that the Trump administration is closely watching the Indo-China situation.
Situated at a height of 15,200 feet above sea level, the pass sits on the top of a craggily formed Himalayan range that separates the Tibetan plateau from the Indian sub-continent.
"Whatever we are doing is in close coordination and synergy with the army and the Indian Air Force to produce desired results," he said.
At a time when Donald Trump is making belligerent noises, Chinese President Xi Jinping responds by overhauling the People's Liberation Army and restructuring the command of the PLA Navy to emphasise Beijing's resolve to dominate the South China Sea.
Sources said that even though India and China have been talking at the diplomatic and the military level for over six weeks now, there has been no thinning down in troop numbers or equipment by the Chinese side on this front.
India and China on Monday decided to deepen bilateral defence ties and maintain peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control besides strengthening cooperation against terror, including at the international level.
The marathon fourth round of Lt Gen-level talks also focussed on steps for pulling back large number of troops and weapons from rear bases along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday said the People's Liberation Army has the confidence and capability to defeat all invading enemies as he inspected a massive military parade at the country's largest military base to mark the 90th founding anniversary of the 2.3-million strong army.
'It is because of the bravery of Colonel Santosh Babu and his men that we have not seen a violent escalation anywhere else along the LAC.'
The PLA launched a campaign to stop food waste and cultivate thrifty habits in the military under the "clean plate" campaign launched by President Xi Jinping.
'Galwan has turned everything.' 'The casualties on both sides alerted the Chinese to the fact that Indians are not going to take it lying down.'
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