India has over 4,000 medium tanks, but not a single light tank. It remains to be seen whether the Ladakh face-off with China galvanises a change, observes Ajai Shukla.
India and China have agreed to soon hold the 10th round of Corps Commander-level talks to take forward the de-escalation process in eastern Ladakh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said India has never attacked any country out of hatred or contempt but if its interests are threatened, 'we will not hesitate to take a big step'.
'We should not allow ourselves to be surprised in any manner in future on the border.'
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.
Replying to clarifications sought by MPs in Rajya Sabha on his statement on the border row, the minister said skirmishes and face-off with China in the last few months have been primarily over the issue of patrolling the Ladakh border.
Chinese military has also deployed a sizeable number of its troops in Galwan Valley, the site of the violent clashes on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the breakthrough agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) does not mean that issues between the two countries have been resolved, however, the disengagement allows us to look at the next step.
The Jaishankar-Wang talks came amid the dragging border row in eastern Ladakh that entered its fifth year in May.
The Budget Session of Parliament will begin on Monday with the address by President Ram Nath Kovind to both Houses in the Central Hall.
India has emerged as a 'major power' by achieving outstanding results in economic development and social governance and its transformation as a stronger, assertive country has made it a 'new geopolitical factor', according to a commentary by a Chinese scholar in a state-run newspaper in Beijing.
At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the violent face-off, government sources said and added that the casualty numbers could rise.
Giving an account of India's overall military modernisation, Lt Gen Pande also said that an in-principle approval has been given to new combat formations called the Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) which can mobilise fast with a more effective approach.
Indian and Chinese troops remained engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in several disputed areas.
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.
The conclave will be held at the national capital from April 18-22 and will be chaired by Army Chief Gen MM Naravane.
At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India monitors such developments.
Military experts said the aim of constructing the bridge in the Khurnak area could be to ensure that the Chinese People's Liberation Army is able to quickly mobilise its troops in the region.
On the first anniversary of the deadly clashes, the army said the supreme sacrifice of the soldiers while fighting the adversary in the "most difficult" high altitude terrain will be "eternally etched" in the memory of the nation.
Without mentioning the boundary dispute, the spokesperson said that China-India relations have been stable on the whole and "our two sides have maintained dialogue and communication at various levels".
The remarks of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki came ahead of the 14th round of military-level talks between India and China on the 20-month row in eastern Ladakh.
Responding to Conservative Party MP Flick Drummond on the implications for British interests of a dispute between a 'Commonwealth member and the world's largest democracy on the one side, and a state that challenges our notion of democracy on the other,' he described the escalation in eastern Ladakh as "a very serious and worrying situation", which the UK is "monitoring closely".
India and China on Friday 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 amid fresh sparring between the two sides on the prolonged Line of Actual Control (LAC) standoff.
It has been argued that India should have held back on disengagement from the Kailash Range, using that as a trump card to force Chinese concessions in areas such as Depsang, where they hold the advantage.
The transgression took place on August 30, and the Chinese troops returned from the area after spending few hours, they said.
With the two armies again in a face-off at multiple points, there is apprehension of renewed clashes.
On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor. This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.
His comments came in the midst of India's bitter border row with China along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
The MEA said the two sides agreed to continue discussions through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues "at the earliest" so as to create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in the bilateral relations.
"We continue to be operationally deployed and ever vigilant," he said, adding the IAF continues to monitor all Chinese activities along the LAC.
Lt Gen PGK Menon, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, popularly known as 'Fire and Fury' Corps, briefed the army chief on various aspects of the situation in eastern Ladakh.
The fresh round of Corps Commander talks are scheduled to start at 10:30 AM at Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, they added.
"India and China to hold Corps Commander-level talks on October 12 in the Eastern Ladakh sector to address the ongoing military standoff between the two countries. So far, the two sides have held six rounds of Corps Commander-level talks," the source said.
The CSG is one of the topmost bodies in the government which provides directions to the military and diplomats on the stand to be taken during talks with the Chinese and also take a stand on the points and demands raised by the Chinese side.
The discussions took place on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
The names of 20 Indian Army personnel, who were killed while valiantly fighting Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June last year, were inscribed on the National War Memorial ahead of the Republic Day, official sources said.
Lauding the bravery displayed by the soldiers, the prime minister said: "The bravery that you and your compatriots showed, a message has gone to the world about India's strength."
At a press conference ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, he also said that India needs to catch up with China on technology and speed in production of military equipment, holding that "we are way behind" the neighbour. Air Chief Marshal Singh, at the same time, said the Indian military is way ahead in terms of personnel including those operating various machines and platforms. "I am very confident that as far as human angle is concerned, as far as our people behind the machine are concerned, we are way ahead of them," he said.
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.
Mishra said the actor should learn to differentiate between the Army and cinema.
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