Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held two-back-to-back meetings with top military brass on Tuesday deliberating on the situation in eastern Ladakh after an Indian Army officer and two soldiers were killed in a violent clash with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley.
Both sides are fielding the same number of troops for the joint exercises, which will culminate on October.
'Our brave Indian soldiers don't reply to raining of bricks with mere sticks, they do so with iron rods'
'The PLA is under constant watch.' 'There is an escalation matrix. For every degree of escalation, responses are thought of and trained for.'
'My understanding is that by the time President Xi Jinping came for the Chennai summit [2019], he had already instructed his army to undertake the action in Galwan in the summer of 2020.'
An estimated 90 to 120 militants have been killed and most of their camps demolished by the Bhutan Army in its operation against Indian insurgents based in that country.
Major Rohit Suri and Naib Subedar Vijay Kumar were honoured at a military investiture ceremony.
At a media briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the two sides have maintained smooth communication on border-related issues through diplomatic and military channels.
This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months.
The decision to disengage the forces, locked in a bitter standoff for the last six weeks in eastern Ladakh, was taken at a nearly 11-hour-long meeting between senior Indian and Chinese commanders in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria asked the air warriors to maintain a very high-level of alertness considering the evolving situation in Pangong lake region in eastern Ladakh following China's unsuccessful attempts to occupy certain strategic points in the area, the officials said on Thursday.
The Indian delegation led by Lt General Harinder Singh, the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, and Commander of the Tibet Military District Maj Gen Liu Lin held an extensive meeting in Maldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh on Saturday that began at around 11.30 am and went on till evening.
The Chinese military is now desperately attempting to give "ex post facto strategic meaning" to its actions in eastern Ladakh.
In underlining the role of border villages as custodians of India's frontiers, New Delhi is following China's example in Tibet.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday called upon the top military brass to analyse the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as well as the current situation in Bangladesh to "predict" any future problems and stay prepared to deal with the "unexpected".
'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.'
President Xi, who heads the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high-command of the two million-strong People's Liberation Army (PLA), appointed Gen. Zhang Xudong as the Commander of the Western Theatre Command, according to the official media in Beijing.
Promit Kumar Mitra, 48, who is in the realty business, was held from his residence in south Kolkata by a team of Military Intelligence officers before being handed over to Kolkata Police at Maidan Police Station on Thursday, they said.
'The jungles of Doda covers about 250 km.' 'Sleeper cells are providing active help to the terrorists.' 'The terrain and situation is such that it is not possible to keep track of every inch.'
'Tensions and dialogue are likely to go hand-in-hand with China.' 'The goal should be to cultivate power so that one can negotiate from a position of strength.'
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.
The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria.
The last round of Corps Commander-level talks had taken place on October 12 but there was no breakthrough on the disengagement of troops from the friction points.
There will be no let-up in troop deployment or Army operations along the Pakistan borders to fight terrorism and infiltration, military officials said on Thursday after a ceasefire agreement was announced between the two armies which they called a step towards regional peace.
16 Indian Army divisions face China, 20 face Pakistan and two divisions are reserves. This powerful signal can hardly be missed in China or Pakistan, 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.
India and China are likely to hold the 16th round of high-level military talks on July 17 to resolve the issues in remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
The Indian troops guarding the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) maintained an assertive approach in sync with the broader national security doctrine and procured a variety of military platforms and weapons to enhance their combat capabilities.
Each time an Indian minister visits Arunachal Pradesh, the tinpot Communists in Beijing's Zhongnanhai get worked up and mutter threats.
'We have to be equally vigilant in the central sector which is where Barahoti lies and also in the Joshimath area.'
The development comes after after reaching a consensus in the 16th round of military talks, the two sides said in a joint statement this evening.
"The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas," the Army said in a statement.
Chinese and Indian troops clashed in Galwan Valley for several hours on the night of June 15 in their deadliest brawl in the last five decades.
There was no comment from the Indian side on the statement made by the Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Colonel Wu Qian, and carried by China's official media.
Russia said on Monday that the Vostok 2022 military exercises will be held from September 1 to 7 in different locations in the Far East and the Sea of Japan and involve more than 50,000 troops from China, India and several other countries.
Major Ruchi Agarwal is commander of the United Nations Female Engagement Team in the conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo.
Sitharaman, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa and Vice Chief of the Indian Navy Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P laid wreaths at the Amar Jawan Jyoti in India Gate, paying respect to the fallen heroes of the war.
The talks would be held in Moldo opposite the Chushul sector in India.
Indian Army officers are convinced China is maintaining the pretence of dialogue and negotiations in order to create the opportunity to occupy more Indian territory. Senior Indian planners apprehend this might be a Chinese ploy to divert attention from Depsang, in Northern Ladakh, which might be China's actual target.
The agenda of the talks will be to firm up a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh, the sources said.
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