During the course of the intense and complex negotiations between senior commanders of the two armies that ended at 2 am on Wednesday, the Indian delegation also apprised the Chinese PLA about the "red lines" and conveyed that the onus was largely on China to improve the overall situation in the region, the sources said.
General Bajwa remains in command as army chief and Prime Minister Imran Khan did not play any role in the reshuffle, says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'We must acknowledge China will use Pakistan against India.' 'We all need to know that these two countries are ready to destabilise India at all times.'
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
'There was plenty of pushing, pulling and jostling going on as everyone wanted to see what was going on at the table.'
The fourth edition of the India-China joint training exercise Hand-in-Hand 2014 kick-started on Monday at the Aundh Military Cantonment in Pune.
The joint statement said Jaishankar and Wang agreed that both sides should take guidance from the series of consensus reached between leaders of the two countries on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes.
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.
India's first integrated defence communication network was launched on Thursday enabling the army, air force, navy and the Special Forces Command to share situational awareness for a faster decision-making process.
'It is a game of patience. We have to stand firm and tire them out, which we are doing.'
After India firmly told China that its violation of the border pacts has "eroded" the entire basis of bilateral ties, China's defence ministry on Friday said the situation at the border is "generally stable" and both sides should put the boundary issue in an "appropriate position" and promote its transition to "normalised management".
Will China's new military reforms endanger Xi Jinping's rule?
The unfortunate thing is that the film will leave a poor impression of the IAF's and indeed of the armed forces's ability to handle sensitive social matters within their professional space, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
The defence minister conducted an aerial survey of northern glacier Siachen and interacted with troops at the base camp.
'340 PLA soldiers were dead and over 450 injured -- bodies were strewn outside the bunkers, tossed behind the lines, buried in trenches.' A fascinating excerpt from Probal DasGupta's Watershed 1967: India's Forgotten Victory Over China.
'More than 1,000 schools and colleges have been identified in border and coastal districts where NCC will be introduced.'
December 3, 2021 marks 50 years since the beginning of the 1971 War which ended in a decisive military victory for India and the liberation of Bangladesh. Most analysts of the 1971 War agree that the IV Corps dash across the mighty Meghna river led by the brilliant General Sagat Singh was the turning point in the war, recalls military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"A strict vigil is being maintained in almost all the sectors with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh as the Chinese suffered a setback in the southern Pangong Tso area and may try to make fresh attempts to ingress into newer dormant areas," government sources told ANI.
The slain armymen are Sepoy Ilayaraja P, from TN, and Sepoy Gawai Sumedh Waman, from Maha.
'Galbraith had a powerful ally in Washington -- not as blunt and direct as the ambassador -- but committed to see Krishna Menon go.' 'This was President Kennedy himself.'
'China would want to take a tougher stance against India forming those strategic partnerships and prevent Quad from becoming a military alliance.'
Singh paid tributes to soldiers killed in the Kargil War at a memorial in Dras sector.
While we seem to want soldiers on short-term engagement, warfare itself is getting more technical and needs skilled manpower. The world has seen the dismal performance of armies that rely on short tour of duty soldiers or have outsourced war to 'contractors' in Afghanistan and now in Ukraine, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
From a contingent of women bikers of Central Reserve Police performing daredevil stunts and participation of a 'tri-service formation' at the Republic Day parade, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying homage to the fallen soldiers at National War Memorial, the Republic Day celebration at the national capital witnessed many firsts.
A second-generation immigrant born and raised in Roswell, Georgia, Narang had an early appreciation for military service due to her maternal grandfather's career in the Indian Army.
'In the 1971 War my battalion suffered 4 casualties after fighting for 14 days.' 'In Operation Blue Star, I lost 19 men in just one hour.'
"We hope the Indian side will move towards China and through concrete actions implement the consensus and continue the close communication through military and diplomatic channels to jointly push for the de-escalation on the border region," Zhao said.
The 11th round of the Corps Commander-level talks began at around 10.30 am at the Chushul border point on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, they said.
Shaurya Chakra is usually awarded to armed forces and para-military personnel for 'gallantry otherwise in the face of the enemy'.
'Our political leadership needs to grasp that there is a difference between a soldier, policeman, trained private security guard and a chowkidar, though all of them provide security.' 'The cross border raids by the army could not be taken by the Central Reserve Police Force, for sure!'
'The potential of one such LAC engagement going out of control and leading to heavy casualties cannot be ruled out,' warns Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
This is the third round of Corps Commander-level talks being held. The first two rounds had taken place in Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC.
'The one aspect which no Indian military thinker would wish to see emerge is a LoC type of posture at the LAC.' 'The LoC is manned for 750 km and terrorist infiltration has led to the creation of a virtual fortress along its entire length.' 'Something mirroring this at the LAC is going to be expensive although deployment everywhere is not warranted there.' 'However, given the complete trust deficit, there appear few alternatives,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'After Uri, the current government took public ownership of surgical strikes.' 'The question they need to ask themselves is did this bring about a change in Pakistan's behaviour towards us? The answer is no.' 'If there had been a change, then Pulwama would not have happened.'
'The adversary will always exploit India's anti-national elements.'
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
'One of the bullets grazed General Sagat's hand and one injured Flying Officer Sidhu in the leg.' 'The helicopter was quickly flown back to Agartala and after landing they found that the aircraft had been peppered with 38 bullet holes!'
'It could have moved from the use of small arms to artillery fire.' 'Anything could have happened like what happens on the LoC.'
By jettisoning the seniority principle, the government has sent a strong signal that only merit and suitability will count in occupying posts in the higher echelons of the military, writes national security expert Nitin Gokhale.
'China and India have encountered some setbacks in recent years which do not serve the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples'
