'It is a game of patience. We have to stand firm and tire them out, which we are doing.'
Addressing his first election rally in poll-bound Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to the soldiers from the state who had made the supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley clash and the Pulwama attack.
Many people believe that India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru made a blunder when he recognised China's sovereignty over Tibet but he did what he thought was best for his country, said the president of the Tibetan government in exile.
Tan said that China has always stressed that military cooperation of relevant countries, especially on exercises and training activities, should not be targeted at any third party, but rather serve to help maintain regional peace and stability.
"The message is clear. We're not going to stand by and let China or anyone else take the reins in terms of being the most powerful, dominant force, whether it's in that region or over here," White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox News.
"The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is mala fide," the army said in a statement. It said differences between the two sides are being addressed through interaction between military commanders following established protocols on management of border between the two countries.
"As regards reports about a bridge being made by the Chinese side on Pangong Lake, the government has been monitoring this activity closely," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
'They also agreed that for the overall development of bilateral relations it was essential to maintain enduring peace and tranquillity in the border areas,' the MEA said in a statement.
Indian and Chinese troops remained engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in several disputed areas.
Innovator and educationist Sonam Wangchuk, the real life Phunsukh Wangdu of Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots, has developed an eco-friendly solar heated tent that Army personnel can use in extremely cold places like Siachen and Galwan valley in the Ladakh region.
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.
When asked for an update on Tuesday's military-level talks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides reached progress for promoting further disengagement of the border troops at the Western Sector.
'China and India have encountered some setbacks in recent years which do not serve the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples'
Most of India's reserves for war in the mountains have been sucked in by the standoff with China. A large part of India's airpower has also similarly been committed on the eastern border. By moving these reserves to the China border, India has been weakened vis-a-vis Pakistan. All in all, the nightmare scenario for India of a two-front war may well come true, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Over the last few weeks, bipartisan support for India against China has been increasing.
The Indian delegation at Thursday's talks is likely to be led by Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the external affairs ministry, they said.
At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the violent face-off, government sources said and added that the casualty numbers could rise.
The Chinese action followed 'India's recent, illegal construction of defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory in the Galwan Valley region', a write-up in the state-run Global Times tabloid said, quoting unnamed military sources.
The Indian Army bravely prevented the Chinese PLA's attempts to unilaterally change the status in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector on December 9 and confronted it with firmness, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.
'Don't be too much after legacy that it should be solved in my lifetime.' 'It is not going to be solved, because you are not dealing with just any other country, you are dealing with a civilisation, a cultural nation.'
Bihar's choppy political waters were on Tuesday astir over the prospects of a meeting between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and K Chandrasekhar Rao, his Telangana counterpart, both of whom share a passion for building a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party's hegemony.
Military affairs experts said his key challenge will be to build consensus among the three services for the theaterisation plan as the Indian Air Force has some apprehensions about its roll-out.
The ministry of external affairs said both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement arrived at earlier at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.
'(The) PM has surrendered Indian territory to Chinese aggression. If the land was Chinese: Why were our soldiers killed? Where were they killed,' he asked on Twitter, tagging the prime minister's remark.
His comments came in the midst of India's bitter border row with China along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The talks between the two armies are going to be held this week at multiple locations including Patroling point 14 (Galwan area), Patrolling point 15, and Hot Springs area, top government sources said.
'Today, our vast green pastures where local herders used to take their cattle to graze have been taken over by the Chinese.' 'The people in the Galwan Valley have lost their lands where their cattle used to graze.'
'India has to prepare for future warfare where kinetic use of force at the border will be limited. War will take place in the realms beyond the border.'
India's top military and strategic brass on Tuesday reviewed the overall situation in eastern Ladakh amid indications that the latest round of talks between senior military commanders of Indian and Chinese armies on the next phase of disengagement of troops may not have produced encouraging results, people familiar with the developments said.
Senior commanders of the two armies held intense negotiations for nearly 11 hours on Sunday at a designated meeting point in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.
'Anyone familiar with Modi's track record will know he never forgets a slight, a betrayal,' notes Virendra Kapoor.
'If the situation escalates, then mini-scale firing might happen.'
The intrusions into India were likely carried out by the PLA's better trained and equipped 'mobile operational units'.
'The Chinese are retaining geostrategic pressure on India by keeping troops there and building infrastructure continually.'
There seems to be a desire for opacity when it comes to confronting China, points out Aakar Patel.
As tension escalated at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the sources said around 50-60 soldiers of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) approached the Indian post in the southern bank of Pangon lake area at around 6 pm but the Indian Army personnel posted there strongly confronted them, forcing their retreat.
'In South Asia, unlike Southeast, East, or Central Asia, there is a natural hegemon: India. China cannot cast it aside easily'
Gen Naravane said a "befitting response" was given to the "conspiracy" to make unilateral changes on the border and that the sacrifice of the Galwan heroes in eastern Ladakh will not go waste.
Observers say China should re-address its policies towards India or else it will continue to face flare-ups increasing the tensions between the two countries at a time China's increasing tension with the US over Taiwan and the South China Sea besides the downturn in the Chinese economy which is hit hard by the zero-covid policy.
