'One must remember that a dragon has a forked tongue,' warns Vivek Gumaste.
Did Xi deliver a message to Modi at Mamallapuram, which though couched in a velvet glove was time-bound? What was that message? It is clear Indian/Israeli/US spy satellites would not have missed detecting Chinese troop movements towards the Ladakh-Tibet frontier. Then why did some important functionaries in the Government of India choose to only ask the Russians about this in April 2020? Was Russian reassurance of Chinese troop movements being part of a routine exercise the reason that the Leh-based XIV Corps did not mobilise itself for its annual summer exercises near the LAC? A fascinating excerpt from Iqbal Chand Malhotra's new book Red Fear: The China Threat.
'For the moment in Eastern Ladakh, it is unlikely there will be any more escalation of this conflict,' observes Colonel S Dinny (retd) who served as Commanding Officer of an infantry battalion deployed in the Pangong Tso area.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's India visit, starting September 17, may be drawing quite a lot of attention and scrutiny. But many a keen eye will also be trained upon what his better half, Peng Liyuan does during her stay in the country.
Suddenly the sands are shifting and even friends are acting strange.
'During disengagement, you don't find violence.' 'And that, too, the killing of a commanding officer.' 'This indicates that this is more serious than previous incidents.'
The government on Friday expressed deep concern over China constructing a road in the disputed Doklam area near Sikkim
'The separatist resurgence in Balochistan is thwarting Pakistan's plans to build CPEC projects to optimally utilise Balochistan's energy reserves,' points out Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'The scheduling of Imran Khan's visit to Beijing and its focus on the J&K situation underscores that Beijing shares the Pakistani concern that tensions with India are only going to escalate further in the period ahead,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
China on Friday said many world leaders and over 10 foreign military forces will participate in its huge WWII memorial parade on September 3 in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of China's resistance against Japan.
The intrusions into India were likely carried out by the PLA's better trained and equipped 'mobile operational units'.
'China has forcibly occupied territory it had never occupied before, blocked Indian patrols' access to areas they had patrolled for decades and, most provocatively, killed 20 Indian soldiers.' 'Most countries would regard these as acts of war.' 'New Delhi has apparently taken off the table the option of evicting the PLA with force,' observes Ajai Shukla.
With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA several kilometres inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.
'The wise men learn lessons in war.' 'The smart men learn lessons from others, it's only the foolish who learn the wrong lesson.'
'Nanda Devi is not an easy mountain to climb.'
'If Asia does become a Chinese dominated space, it will not only be because India failed to get its economic act together but also because it did not stand up for its democratic credentials,' warns Shyam Saran, the former foreign secretary.
'The killings are a worrisome escalation of tensions, but little is known about the immediate causes or results of the fight in Galwan and it is not possible, at this point, to assign blame'
India has over 4,000 medium tanks, but not a single light tank. It remains to be seen whether the Ladakh face-off with China galvanises a change, observes Ajai Shukla.
From March 1959 to March 1962, the PLA fought 12 major battles in central Tibet which was seen as an opportunity to train China's soldiers, notes Ajai Shukla.
'All the government needs to do is to identify clear political and strategic objectives and to give the military planners a free hand,' asserts Ajai Shukla.
Pakistan's powerful Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif's visit to Beijing comes in the backdrop of assertions by Pakistan that it will raise its concerns at the international level over India's successful test of supersonic interceptor missile.
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Saturday said that China's ambitions and aspirations to global power presented an 'omnipresent danger' to stability in South Asia.
Britain and China have clashed over the offer of British National Overseas passports to Hong Kong residents, observes Rup Narayan Das.
'We will not accept these misadventures by the Chinese.'
The United States has made it clear to India that it is "discouraging" it from proceeding with its acquisition of S-400 missile defence systems from Russia but Washington will have to weigh "important geostrategic considerations" while taking a decision on growing calls for a presidential CAATSA waiver to New Delhi, President Joe Biden's nominee for Coordinator for Sanctions Policy has told lawmakers.
Kicking off his four-day visit, General Suhag met General Li Zuocheng, the head of China's ground forces which have undergone major restructuring in the last three years.
Did Vinod Sehgal die in Tsangdgar or was he taken PoW to Tibet or China? Why has the IAF kept so quiet for all these years, asks Claude Arpi.
The inter-ministerial committee will coordinate investigation against Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust and Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
The aircraft carrier is China first domestically-built ship. Shandong is bigger than China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning and could house 36 fighter jets.
Heading G20 will give India a foreign affairs year like it has never had in history. You can trust Narendra Modi to exploit this to India's benefit. And, of course, to his own in his election year, explains Shekhar Gupta.
'Intrusions by PLA troops in the Ladakh sector are more in number than elsewhere and this region is now likely to remain an area of enhanced Chinese interest,' warns China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
Reflecting concern about Internet security, the United States has said it won't tolerate government-sponsored cyber theft of trade secrets even as it brought cyber-espionage charges against China's five military officers for allegedly stealing classified corporate information.
China is the second largest spender on defence after the US. T
Xi's visit to Nyingchi, bordering Arunachal Pradesh, signals China's opening of another front to India in the eastern sector, observes Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
Against the backdrop of recent incursions by Chinese troops into India, the two countries are working to conclude a new border defence agreement with an aim of signing it when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh travels to Beijing possibly in October.
'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.' Former RA&W official Jayadeva Ranade explains what China's military reforms mean for the world.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 10 images
The 2.3 million strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest, adopts a more aggressive posture with massive structural revamp.
China will increase its defence spending by "around seven per cent" this year, as it vowed to guard against "outside meddling" in its territorial disputes.
'The situation in Doklam has plateaued; militarily, the Chinese know they can do nothing here,' an Indian general tells Ajai Shukla.
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