The Indian Army is looking at deploying over 350 light tanks, mostly in the mountainous border areas.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that the government will not allow India's pride to be hurt under any circumstances even as he said bilateral talks were on at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the row.
'In Eastern Ladakh the Chinese attempted salami slicing.' 'Our response has been superb. Our military has responded magnificently.'
The top military brass reviewed the situation in eastern Ladakh and deliberated on key issues to be flagged at the talks on Monday, the sources said. Army Chief General M M Naravane and several top military officials were present in the meeting.
The sources said the situation in eastern Ladakh remained 'tense' and that around 30-40 soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) are holding up at a position close to an Indian post in the Rezang-La ridgeline in eastern Ladakh.
On the first day of his two-day visit to Ladakh, Gen Naravane held a series of meetings with top commanders about the evolving situation in the region as well as on India's overall combat readiness to deal with any eventualities, military sources said.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said the recent induction of Rafale jets along with previous acquisitions of C-17 Globemaster aircraft as well as Chinook and Apache helicopters have provided the IAF with substantial tactical and strategic capability enhancement.
This meeting is taking place after a gap of around four months.
It was for the first time that the high-level military talks on the lingering border row spanned two days.
The Indian side is expected to seek disengagement as soon as possible in the remaining friction points besides pressing for resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were on Thursday seen having brief exchanges ahead of a media briefing by the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) leaders in Johannesburg.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping India's concerns on the "unresolved" issues along Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh during a conversation on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Thursday.
In the next few days, Indian Army will carry out a detailed verification to check actual implementation of the disengagement process, he said. It is learnt that the mutual disengagement in Gogra (patrolling point 17A) is expected to be completed by Thursday.
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.
The Indian Army has occupied several key heights in the strategically located Rezang-La and Reqin-La areas on the southern bank of the lake since the end of August.
The last conversation between the two leaders was on April 4 on the issue of hydroxychloroquine.
India's engagement with China is "complex" and Chinese attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh starting from April-May 2020 seriously disturbed the peace and tranquillity in border areas, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said in a report on Monday.
India and China celebrated the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic relations on Tuesday, with leaders from both countries exchanging congratulatory messages. The anniversary comes as the two countries are working to restore ties after a four-year freeze due to the military standoff in eastern Ladakh. Both countries have expressed a willingness to enhance strategic mutual trust and step up cooperation in various fields. The two sides are also exploring ways to rebuild ties and promote people-to-people exchanges.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said India is a peace-loving nation that never resorts to any kind of aggression but is always prepared to give a befitting reply if provoked or threatened.
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.
"Some steps are required for full normalcy, we have not reached there," Bagchi said.
The chief was also briefed extensively about the air maintenance operations in support of the Indian Army and the paramilitary troops there.
"China is an absolutely impossible factor to ignore in what has been our confrontation with Pakistan," Tharoor said.
China and India were able to "reduce differences" and build "some consensus" on disengaging troops from friction points to end the standoff in eastern Ladakh and agreed to maintain dialogue to reach a resolution acceptable to both sides at an "early date", the Chinese defence ministry said on Thursday.
India and China on Monday decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra as the two sides agreed to take certain people-centric steps to 'stabilise and rebuild' ties.
Out of 18, four personnel were critically injured but they are responding to treatment and are stable now, people familiar with the matter said.
The habitats have been provided with proper heating facilities as the region receives up to 40 feet of snow after November every year while temperatures fall up to minus 40 degree Celsius in the winter months.
Jaishankar said India-China ties have been abnormal since 2020 when peace and tranquillity in border areas were disturbed due to Chinese actions.
He said that in recent times, based on the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, China and India have maintained close communication on the border situation through diplomatic and military channels and achieved great progress.
Corporal Wang Ya Long was handed over to the Chinese military on Tuesday night at Chushul-Moldo border point in eastern Ladakh, the sources said in New Delhi.
Jaishankar said, "The immediate part which awaits us is what we call the de-escalation, which is the build-up of forces along the Line of Actual Control."
'A breakthrough in eastern Ladakh leading to disengagement and creation of a buffer zone will obviate the need of military deployment through the winter months ahead,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Chinese ambassador to India, Xu Feihong, on Wednesday expressed hope that the recently completed Indo-China border disengagement in Eastern Ladakh would smoothen relations and pave the way for a better understanding between the two neighbours in the days ahead.
India and China agreed during their military talks on Sunday to stay in close touch and work out a mutually acceptable solution to the "remaining issues" in eastern Ladakh at the earliest, but there was no indication of clear forward movement in ending their three-year-long border standoff.
The two countries reviewed the situation in the region during a fresh round of online diplomatic talks under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs.
Citing media reports that China has built shelters in the Depsang area in Ladakh, the Congress on Saturday questioned the government's 'silence' over the issue and asked what steps were being taken by it to ensure status quo ante of April 2020.
The comments by External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava came at a media briefing when asked about the fresh comments by the Chinese foreign ministry blaming India again for the border situation in eastern Ladakh.
This is not for the first time that the Dalai Lama is visiting a border region as he had visited Ladakh as well Arunachal Pradesh several times in the past, the functionary said.
The participants would include senior ministers dealing with the situation along with the senior military leadership. The leadership is likely to discuss the Chinese military activities in Doklam and other areas on Bhutanese soil along with the Indian preparations to deal with the situation.
India and China have agreed to work towards a "roadmap" for rebuilding mutual trust following the border standoff in eastern Ladakh, according to a statement from the Indian Defence Ministry. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Vientiane, Laos, on the sidelines of a regional security conclave. Singh called for drawing lessons from the "unfortunate border clashes" of 2020 and emphasized the need for cooperation rather than conflict. Both sides agreed to work towards a roadmap for rebuilding mutual trust and understanding, and a meeting of the Special Representatives and Secretary-Vice Minister mechanism will also take place soon.
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