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 two-day mega exercise is involving almost all its frontline fighter jets and other assets deployed in the region, people familiar with the drill said.
'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.'
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 Centre held that seniority is not the sole criterion for selection.
Lt Gen J F R Jacob (retd), who negotiated the surrender of Pakistani troops in Dhaka following the 1971 war, passed away on Wednesday morning after prolonged illness. He was 92.
In a show of strength, China is deploying its aircraft carrier group and a nuclear submarine in large-scale military drills in the Taiwan Strait in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's high-stakes visit to Taipei which infuriated Beijing as it claims the island as part of its territory.
Of the 156 choppers, 66 would be inducted by the Indian Air Force while the rest 90 would be acquired by the Indian Army.
India and China on Friday are holding another round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the 22-month-long standoff in some friction points in eastern Ladakh, two months after the last round of such talks failed to yield any significant outcome.
China said on Tuesday that the current situation on the border areas with India was "stable" as it confirmed that the 14th round of Corps Commander-level talks to discuss the disengagement process in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh will be held on Wednesday.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
People familiar with the development said Chief of Army Staff General M M Naravane and the top commanders will review the country's combat readiness in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a bitter standoff for 17 months.
The destabilising and corrosive behaviour of the Chinese Community Party in the Indo-Pacific region is simply not helpful and some of the defence infrastructure that is being set up by China near its border with India is alarming, US Army's Pacific Commanding General Charles A Flynn said on Wednesday.
The Defence Ministry said his tenure will be remembered for the 'resolute reply' to the Northern adversary in Eastern Ladakh and for a determined push towards self-reliance in defence besides embracing niche and disruptive technologies to fight future wars.
Sources said the exercise is aimed at checking the IAF's overall combat capability and military preparedness in the region.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday held talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu and is learnt to have discussed the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh.
'Unlike on the western and eastern borders where there is an enemy at the gate, here there is an invisible enemy which is building its own capability and can come into play at a time and place of his choosing.'
India and China on Thursday agreed to hold the next round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh.
Indian troops are defending every inch of the border with China and not even a single inch of land has been taken over by the neighbouring country in recent years, Ladakh Lt Governor Brig (retd) B D Mishra said on Thursday.
Officers at Army headquarters say the chief has personally initiated this reshuffle, reports Ajai Shukla
General Bakshi is understood to have been assured by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that the process was under way to appoint him as India's first tri-service commander, a post that would, at least nominally, place him senior to General Rawat.
It is the first warship to have been named after a city from the Northeastern region, the approval for which was accorded by the President in April 2019.
On Wednesday, Richa had reacted to Northern Army Commander Lt General Upendra Dwivedi's statement that the Indian Army is ready to execute orders like taking back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reiterated that the situation at the India-China border is generally stable and both sides should consolidate the present achievements and strictly abide by the relevant agreements while pushing for further cooling and easing of the conditions for sustainable peace and tranquillity at the frontier.
The defence ministry has taken the Election Commission's approval for appointment of a new navy chief after Admiral D K Joshi resigned on moral grounds after frequent mishaps in the force.
'Since each chief single-mindedly pursues his service's interests in the competition for turf and in core matters such as budget share. The CDS, therefore, must act as an "honest broker" whose decisions serve the broader national purpose, rather than narrow service interests,' says Ajai Shukla.
As Russia's war to control eastern Ukraine intensifies, Ukrainians discover the devastation Vladimir Putin's soldiers have left behind in other parts of the country.
'They will continue to keep pricking at places where both of us are sensitive and keep the LAC alive.'
They said various Mandarin language courses are being run at the language schools at the Northern, Eastern and Central commands of the Army.
Indian graziers were stopped by Chinese troops from moving ahead near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Demchok region of eastern Ladakh over a week ago, people familiar with the development said on Monday.
The naming of the places in memory of the soldiers comes days after Chinese military commander Qi Fabao, who was injured in the Galwan Valley clash with Indian troops in June, 2020, attended the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) Congress as a delegate.
In the Army headquarters, the wings handling military operations, military intelligence, operational logistics and strategic movement will carry out their functions with bare minimum staff strength till April 19, according to the order. Within the command headquarters, wings handling manpower, logistics and operations will only function with skeletal staff.
Robin K Dhowan on Thursday took over as chief of the Indian Navy nearly two months after D K Joshi quit the post in the wake of a series of mishaps.
In a projection of India's growing maritime prowess, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday addressed the top naval commanders onboard the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in the Arabian Sea and witnessed a mega wargame, amid China's increasing military posturing in the Indian Ocean region.
Throughout its standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinese officials sought to downplay the severity of the crisis, emphasising Beijing's intent to preserve border stability and prevent the standoff from harming other areas of its bilateral relationship with India, the Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday.
Having the ITBP and the Army at the same operational location will resolve these issues as well, the sources said.
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.
Mishra said the actor should learn to differentiate between the Army and cinema.
The fresh round of Corps Commander-level talks took place at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, they said.
