The relations between India and China cannot be normal if peace and tranquillity in border areas are disturbed, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.
It is when one looks away from the immediate song and dance and at the granular detail of what has been going on since 2014 that one realises what the quality and competence of thinking and execution is in this project we call New India, asserts Aakar Patel.
Lt Gen Dwivedi, who was referring to the clash between the Indian soldiers and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, also said that PLA's aggression in eastern Ladakh was met with "swift mobilisation and appropriate force posturing".
He highlighted how the ministry of foreign affairs of People's Republic of China in its statement made a mention of the Galwan Valley, but the Indian external affairs ministry did not do so.
Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong said India and China are able to properly manage their differences, and called upon New Delhi to avoid taking actions that may 'complicate' the situation in eastern Ladakh.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
The minister said armies of the two sides do not use firearms as per provisions of two bilateral agreements sealed in 1996 and 2005.
The state-run Global Times newspaper quoted the People's Liberation Army Western Theatre Command spokesperson as saying that "Indian troops again crossed the line of actual control in the Galwan Valley region and purposefully launched provocative attacks, leading to severe clashes and casualties."
General Manoj Chandrasekhar Pande visited forward areas in Ladakh for the first time after he took over as chief of the army staff on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
Jaishankar said India had agreements with China not to mass force in the border areas.
Glimpses from Yudh Abhyas, the India-US military exercise currently being conducted in Tapovan, Uttarakhand, 100 km away from the Line of Actual Control.
Topics like 'Boycott China', 'Go China' and 'Go Chinese Go' have been trending on Twitter.
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.
One hopes, though one is not optimistic, that this action to some extent corrects the lunacy which has infected our national media and has damaged our nation, notes Aakar Patel.
Both sides have completed creation of a buffer zone of three kilometres in the three friction points of Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs as part of a temporary measure aimed at reducing the possibility of any confrontation.
Since the June 15 clash, the PLA has inducted large numbers of troops, armoured vehicles and artillery along the LAC, from Depsang and Galwan in northern Ladakh to Hot Springs, Pangong Tso, and Chushul in central Ladakh, to Demchok and Chumar in southern Ladakh.
The New York Times had reported that a few Indian soldiers were missing in action after the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan valley.
Out of 18, four personnel were critically injured but they are responding to treatment and are stable now, people familiar with the matter said.
Contours of talks are being chalked out and these can take place at multiple levels including Joint Secretary- level. There is still no official word on the proposed meet from both sides.
It is for China to decide what role it plays at the G20 summit in New Delhi, a top US official has said, asserting that if Beijing wants to come in and be a "spoiler", that option is available to it.
Talking about the expectations from India, Jaishankar said that there are lots of expectations as New Delhi is seen as the one that solves problems.
It also noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to Pakistani provocations.
Defying the COVID-19 social distancing norms, huge crowds gathered to pay respects to the soldiers amid emotional moments.
Exuding confidence, Kejriwal said, "Our government will be formed in Gujarat in 2027."
"As far as I know, China presently has not detained any Indian personnel," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told a media briefing in Beijing while answering questions on the tense standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley.
'The future of BRICS is under stress as Chinese attempts to expand the platform are being resisted by India and Brazil.' 'Beijing is focused on a quick expansion with the aim of giving the platform a distinctly anti-Western orientation, which New Delhi and Brasilia seem to have no interest in,' notes Harsh V Pant.
The Chinese probably thought that brutal assault was a knock-out, but they had not counted on the ingenuity, loyalty and courage of battle-trained Indian officers and jawans.
"This is Modi's India, this is new India. Now if anyone raises an eye against the country he gets a befitting reply," BJP spokesperson Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore asserted.
'There have been equal or more casualties on the Chinese side.' 'Our soldiers are hardy and strong and far superior than the Chinese.'
Jaishankar also said that there is a need to take the disengagement process forward.
French Ambassador to New Delhi, Emmanuel Lenain, also conveyed condolences to India, over the death of the soldiers.
'This reluctance to respond forcefully to Chinese PLA provocations and outright aggression has as much to do with Prime Minister Modi personally, as with the institutional mindset of the MEA or even the Indian Army.' 'They are scarred by the 1962 War and are still cowed by China.'
India said it is strongly committed to ensuring its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Will never let the sacrifice of our braves of Galwan go in vain, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said.
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.
Nepal said it was confident that both its "friendly neighbours" India and China will resolve their border stand-off at the Line of Actual Control through peaceful means.
On Pakistan, the publication quoted him as saying that India wants "normal and neighborly relations."
The government has also relaxed certain rules to cut delays in military purchase like allowing the three services to procure required weapons and equipment from a single vendor, the sources said.
The meeting will take place in Chushul sector on the Indian side of Line of Actual Control.
The answer to Chinese tactics of nibbling territory is not defence of every inch -- a military impossibility -- but instead, nibbling at Chinese territory wherever we are in a stronger position, counsels Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
