Amid the ongoing military standoff with China in Eastern Ladakh, Lieutenant General Anindya Sengupta will take over as commander of the Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps this month-end.
Lt Col S D Goswami said the helicopter with two pilots -- Major Padmanabhan and Major S Ganapathy of the Army Aviation Squadron at Leh -- had taken off on Friday to evacuate an injured jawan. The helicopter lost contact with the air traffic control while returning to Leh in bad weather. The wreckage was found near a mountain pass in the eastern Ladakh.
"We are closely monitoring the developments on the eastern border and we are fully prepared to respond," military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said
The paper suggests the strategy needs to be area-specific eg, border tourism can be promoted aggressively in the Turtuk or Siachen sector, and Daulat Beg Oldi or Depsang plains.
In all likelihood, the next conventional Chinese attack on India would be preceded by a massive cyber attack designed to cripple Indian networks and interfere with our disaster-relief programmes.
Lt General Rawat belongs to the famous 5th Battalion of 11th Gorkha Rifles. He is the current vice chief of army staff of Indian Army.
TROPEX-23 this year witnessed the participation of approximately 70 Indian Navy ships, six submarines and over 75 aircraft.
Gen Singh, who has vast experience in counter-insurgency operations and till lately was the GOC-in-C of Kolkata-based Eastern Command, was handed over charge by Gen Kapoor at a ceremony in the South Block in New Delhi.
Conceding that people in the bordering areas do move into the neighbouring nation's territory at times, he termed it a common phenomenon on borders and said, "There is no danger from such movement."
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
China on Saturday began military exercises around Taiwan to test the capabilities of its forces to 'seize control of the sea, air and information', days after a meeting between the United States House Speaker and the President of the self-ruled island in defiance of repeated threats by Beijing.
The armies of India and the US on Tuesday began an over two-week mega military exercise at a military facility in Uttarakhand with the aim of exchanging best practices and tactics in sync with growing defence ties between the two countries.
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".
Rezang La is the site of an epic battle where Indian troops bravely fought the Chinese soldiers in 1962.
Taking advantage of the Russia-Ukraine war, China has been conducting military drills on its far north-eastern border, raising expert concerns that Beijing could be considering a push into Russian territory.
'The necessity of a Mountain Strike Corps is well understood. The problem is in implementing the intention.'
Gen Rawat carried out an aerial recce of certain areas and was briefed about key aspects of the security matrix in the region by senior military commanders.
'Sepoy K Ashuli displayed nerves of steel, exemplary courage, fearlessness under enemy fire, unparalleled devotion to duty and camaraderie of the highest order in keeping with the finest traditions of the Indian Army.'
Rumour-mongering has largely affected the process to calm down the situation and bring peace in troubled Manipur.
Some may see China's decision to antagonise India as strategically unwise. But China believes its prestige demands standing up to India, whatever the cost.
After remaining peaceful for most of the year, Chinese troops entered Indian territory in the fag end of 2010 along the Line of Actual Control in south-eastern Ladakh region and threatened a contractor and his team to halt work on constructing a 'passenger shed'.
With Pakyong now usable by AN-32s, the Indian Army can quickly move soldiers, weapons and supplies to this highly sensitive sector, which includes flashpoints like Doklam, Nathu La and the Siliguri Corridor.
The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)in eastern Ladakh remained 'very fragile' and is 'quite dangerous' in military assessment because of close deployments of troops of both sides in some pockets though substantial progress has been made in the disengagement process in many areas, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.
The Army has also further bolstered overall surveillance mechanisms in all areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after foiling China's fresh attempt to occupy an area on the southern bank of Pangong lake, they said.
'Our brave Indian soldiers don't reply to raining of bricks with mere sticks, they do so with iron rods'
Recalling the Galwan incident, he said the bravery, valour and restraint shown by the Indian Army are incomparable and unparalleled.
'A new doctrine now needs to be evolved for a new situation, and the army will do it.' 'You won't see more Kashmiris driven in front of army columns.' 'Nor will the army massacre hundreds, Dyer style,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'We should not allow ourselves to be surprised in any manner in future on the border.'
"All temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created in the area by both sides have been dismantled and mutually verified. The landform in the area has been restored by both sides to the pre-standoff period," the Army said in a statement.
Both sides are fielding the same number of troops for the joint exercises, which will culminate on October.
In a statement, the Indian Army said the face-off was resolved by local commanders as per established protocols. The incident at Naku La became public on Monday hours after senior commanders of both the armies concluded a nearly 16-hour-long meeting in an attempt to defuse tension in eastern Ladakh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of the SCO defence ministerial conclave in Delhi, people familiar with the matter said.
The defence minister visited the forward areas at a time when China is upgrading its infrastructure along the border.
Acting on a tip off, the Gorkha regiment raided the Mechaki reserve forest area at Hankhati where the militants, including hardcore ULFA ultra Joond Bhuyan, were sheltered. When the militants opened fire at the approaching militants, the securitymen retaliated and heavy exchange of fire continued for nearly an hour. In the shootout, Captain S Choudhury sustained grievous injuries and was airlifted to the Air Force hospital at Roroiya, where he was declared dead.
The first joint theatre command would be responsible for the border against Pakistan in what the military refers to as the "western theatre"; while a second command -- the northern theatre command -- would be responsible for the border with China. A third, navy-heavy theatre, called the "maritime command" will be responsible for the security of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR); and an island command, already functional and called the Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC), would project power into the eastern Indian Ocean.
Suhag has filed an affidavit in Supreme Court, accusing the minister of trying to scuttle his promotion to the appointment of army commander.
At least three Pakistani soldiers were killed and many others wounded on Saturday when militants from the Afghanistan side attacked border checkpoints in northern Chitral district, local media reported.
The brother of the martyr, Jai Kishore Singh, who himself is in the armed forces, accused the police of thrashing his father and abusing him.
Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane had said on Wednesday that India was hopeful of resolving issues related to disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Springs) in eastern Ladakh in the 14th round of talks.
After a gap of over three months, India and China on Wednesday are holding another round of high-level military talks to resolve the 20-month-long military standoff in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, sources in the security establishment said.
