The rulers of the day need to be sensitive and involved in managing the identities of sacred spaces and the ongoing dialogues about the past in diverse societies, suggests Colonel Nikhil Apte (retd).
"As regards reports about a bridge being made by the Chinese side on Pangong Lake, the government has been monitoring this activity closely," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
Through the past 18-month period, peace has prevailed in the disputed border regions, which was immensely helpful in the difficult situation that the country was passing through, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"What just happened is that we have agreed on the need to disengage because the troops on both sides are deployed very close to each other. "So there is a disengagement and de-escalation process which has been agreed upon," he said during an video interactive session at the India Global Week.
China hiked its annual defence budget by 7.1 per cent.
'Unless India ups the ante, Beijing will continue to believe its transgressions are cost free and will feel encouraged to do more of the same.'
'The Battle of Jamalpur was a turning point in the 1971 War because a small battalion of 700 men broke the back of the Pakistanis.'
China has increased its antics in Taiwan Strait post the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the self-governed island.
The structure and the level at which the hotline would be set up is likely to come up for discussion in future meetings between the two countries at the military level, they said.
People familiar with the situation in the region said the two sides were engaged in trying to resolve the dispute, but there was no indication of a positive outcome yet as both the armies continued to bolster their positions in disputed areas of Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley and Demchok.
In separate statements, the Chinese foreign and the defence ministries, however, repeated Beijing's stand that India was responsible for the June 15 violent face-off in eastern Ladakh. Defence Ministry Spokesman Col Wu Qian said the two defence ministers are negotiating on the phone.
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'.
India has already mobilised fighter jets and sent thousands of additional army troops to forward locations along the border with China after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a brutal attack by Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on June 15.
"China creeps towards hegemony in Asia, threatens India's borders, and treats other countries as junior partners, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said.
'A great General who had become a legend in his lifetime.' 'India will not see the likes of Sagat Singh again.'
Union Defence Minister A K Antony recently told the Lok Sabha that steps had been taken to strengthen the security of the network at the Eastern Naval Command at Vishakapatanam in the wake of intelligence inputs regarding possible hacking.
"On the border issue, China always maintains that we should follow through on treaties and agreements we signed and we jointly uphold peace and tranquility at the border region," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said while responding to Jaishankar's remarks.
The two sides have also agreed for a joint mechanism to verify the progress in the disengagement process through delegation meetings as well as using unmanned aerial vehicles.
Another round of diplomatic talks under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination is expected to be scheduled soon.
Who knows, the moment of truth in Ladakh may also augur for a giant leap toward boundary settlement with China in the fulness of time. The news that the special representatives of the two countries are planning to meet gives a positive signal, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Sanjeev Nayar offers some ideas on how Indians can help in improving the lives of those living in border areas and in the process help the Indian Army.
'Three decades of intensive discussions, protocols and Confidence Building Measures were jettisoned one fine morning in 2020.' 'The primary lesson that has been learnt is that that there is no reliability about the Chinese.'
It is a timely reminder that when faced with twin threats, India has succeeded by wisely choosing allies, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"We value our partnership with India, and we've been increasing it and doing a lot more, over time. They have the same security challenge, primary security challenger that we do, and it's real on their northern border," Admiral John Christopher Aquilino, commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Indo-Pacific National Security Challenges.
There was no breakthrough on the disengagement of troops from the friction points in eastern Ladakh during the seventh round of military talks on October 12. "The eighth round of military talks is likely to take place this week," said a source on Tuesday.
"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.
Gen Rawat will be able to serve as CDS for a period of up to three years after the government amended the rules extending the age of retirement to 65 years.
The Chinese side has particularly bolstered its presence in the Galwan Valley, erecting around 100 tents in the last two weeks and bringing in heavy equipment for construction of bunkers, notwithstanding the stiff protest by Indian troops. There have been reports of multiple incidents of transgressions by Chinese troops in several areas in Eastern Ladakh.
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.
'We will not accept these misadventures by the Chinese.'
The clear assertion by New Delhi came ahead of a fresh round of Lt General-level talks between the Indian army and the Chinese PLA which government sources said is set to take place within the next two days.
'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.'
"When we have something to share, we will share. Discussions are ongoing," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said replying to a volley of questions on whether India and China are working on specific proposals to resolve the over six-month-long row in eastern Ladakh.
"Numerous rounds of talks have taken place with the Chinese counterparts to deescalate the situation without compromising on India's stand of 'complete disengagement and immediate restoration of status quo ante'," the defence ministry said.
Pakistan still has to acquire the patience you need in a democracy. The patience to accept that even if I do not like the government I have, I must wait till the next election to change it, explains Shekhar Gupta.
The MEA spokesperson further said the actions and behaviour of the Chinese side since earlier this year along the LAC have been in "clear violation" of the bilateral agreements and protocols concluded between the two countries to ensure peace and tranquility on the border.
'Those who say that conventional war is a thing of the past or that war is not an option, or that diplomacy alone can prevent war -- are wrong and we see that in Ukraine.'
'We can expect heightened belligerence from China.'
'When armies start attacking with clubs and batons, then at some point this can take an escalatory spiral and spin out of control.'
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian expressed this hope hours after India and China accused each other of firing in the air near the Pangong lake at the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Monday.
