The meeting started at around 11.30 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) opposite Chushul to defuse the tensions in Eastern Ladakh sector due to Chinese military build-up, the sources said. This is the second meeting between the two corps commanders.
Another round of diplomatic talks under the framework of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination is expected to be scheduled soon.
He said India had made matching deployments in terms of troops and infrastructure in its areas along the LAC and there was no way anyone would be able to behave in an aggressive manner again.
According to the 'Military and Security Developments involving the People's Republic of China' report 2023: "Since early May 2020, sustained tensions along the India-China border have dominated the Western Theater Command's attention."
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India is committed to resolve all issues through dialogue, noting the way ahead to address the issue is negotiations.
The two sides held diplomatic talks through video conference on the border standoff in midst of fresh details emerging that China has strengthened its position in several areas in eastern Ladakh including Galwan Valley where a violent clash on June 15 left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
China said that "sound and stable ties" serve the common interests of China and India.
DRDO is offering a 30-35-tonne light tank that it says will be a match for what the army faces -- China's new Type-15 light tank.
The Indian side is expected to present specific proposals at the talks to deescalate tension in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Demchok -- the three areas in eastern Ladakh where the two sides have been on a bitter standoff for last one month, the sources said.
The decisions were mentioned in a joint statement issued by the two armies late Tuesday, a day after the sixth round of Sino-India Corps commander-level talks that lasted for 14-hours.
Gen Naravane said India is dealing with China in a "firm" and "non-escalatory" manner to ensure the sanctity of its claims in eastern Ladakh, and that it was even open to initiating confidence-building measures.
India and China failed to make any breakthrough, but agreed to maintain dialogue to arrive at a mutually acceptable resolution at the earliest.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said this at his media briefing as he parried questions on India's assertion that consensus reached by the leaders on maintaining peace along the border cannot be swept under the carpet.
According to information, the Chinese side conveyed to the Indian mission its keenness to have a meeting between the two defence ministers.
The MEA spokesperson further said the actions and behaviour of the Chinese side since earlier this year along the LAC have been in "clear violation" of the bilateral agreements and protocols concluded between the two countries to ensure peace and tranquility on the border.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday asserted that India's relationship with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas and there is no ambiguity in New Delhi's signalling to that country.
The Indian Navy is also ramping up its operational cooperation with various friendly naval forces like the United States Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in view of the fast evolving regional security landscape, they said.
The sources said the mutual disengagement of troops at the two friction points is likely to be completed within two days, and that there has been 'substantial' withdrawal of forces by Chinese military from the areas.
The 30-member committee, chaired by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Union minister Jual Oram and of which Rahul Gandhi is also a member,wishes to visit the eastern Ladakh region in the last week of May or in June.
His attack on the government came a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assured Parliament that India has not conceded anything in the sustained talks with China and it will not allow even an inch of its territory to be taken away by anyone.
Army chief General Naravane said the ongoing dialogue will sort out all the perceived differences between the two countries.
The high-level talks came a week after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a violent clash between the two sides in Galwan Valley.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury aid that India must tackle Chinese aggression using all necessary means.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria was at the Leh IAF base on Wednesday where he reviewed operational preparedness of the force in effectively guarding the sensitive border areas in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese armies have been on a nearly six-week standoff.
The defence ministry said 98 per cent of the total procurement worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore will be sourced from the domestic industries.
This is the first time that the defence ministry has admitted officially about the transgressions by the Chinese troops.
'This was Indian land the PLA advanced on and occupied.' 'The Chinese then 'negotiated' a pullback of their troops a small distance on Indian territory even as Indian jawans draw back further into India from the forward position.' 'An apparently satisfied Indian government says this is a great move for peace! How great is that for China!'
India and China have held several rounds of talks at the diplomatic and military-level to resolve the standoff that erupted in early May.
The forward airbase near the PoK-China border, which from where Pakistan is around 50 kilometres and the strategic Daulat Beg Oldi is around 80 kilometres, the activity of fighter, transport aircraft and helicopters is going on during both day and night.
The disengagement of troops of the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army from the Line of Actual Control was reached after sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level, said the ministry of external affairs last week.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
It is learnt that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to top military brass that there was no need for reviewing the implementation of any of the key projects along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand or in Arunachal Pradesh in view of the aggressive behaviour by Chinese troops in several sensitive areas.
The ITBP guards the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control between India and China, along with the Indian Army.
Besides attending the SCO defence ministers' meeting, Singh will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu and several other top military officials with an aim to expedite the implementation of several defence procurement programmes, they said.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Friday approved the proposal of the Department of Rural Development for construction of two crore more houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin (PMAY-G). The Cabinet approved the 'Implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin during FY 2024-25 to 2028-29,"which prescribes for the construction of two crore more houses at existing unit assistance of Rs 1.20 lakh in plain areas and Rs 1.30 lakh in North Eastern Region States and Hill States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, according to an official statement.
In a major boost to its fire power, the Indian Army has deployed a sizeable number of upgraded L70 anti-aircraft guns in the high mountains along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh in addition to its existing M-777 howitzers and Swedish Bofors guns, officials said on Wednesday.
Indian military sources said no firearms were used in the clashes and that most of the injuries were sustained following stone-pelting and use of rods by the Chinese side.
China and India have maintained "candid and in-depth communication and coordination" to promote disengagement in areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after the eighth round of talks to resolve the current standoff, the Chinese military said on Thursday.
The two sides agreed that the next round of military dialogue should be held at an early date.
"Discussions are on; what is going on is something confidential between us and the Chinese," he said when the moderator at the Bloomberg India Economic Forum pressed the minister to give a clear status of the border situation.
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