'He knew that a regime which believes that power flows from the barrel of the gun can only be handled from a position of comprehensive strength and not from a position of vulnerability and weakness,' says Rup Narayan Das.
'From the Indian perspective, Trump's invitation to Imran Khan to visit the White House is a bitter pill to swallow,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
The prime minister and the Chinese president walked along the banks of East Lake and also took a boat ride together as they decided to step up their personal rapport.
'The government will ensure that India's pride is not affected as far as the situation along Indo-China border is concerned'
'The Chinese staying put in Pangong Tso, and creating a buffer zone on Indian territory in other areas,' a senior serving general tells Ajai Shukla.
India said a new mechanism will be set up for issues relating to trade and investment.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India is a time for the two countries to get away from the haze of rhetoric and stale euphoria, says Sana Hashmi.
Thimpu apparently didn't think it necessary to take Delhi into confidence. Bhutan is loathe to getting dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between India and China. And for Beijing, this was too good an opportunity to be missed to thumb its nose at the powers-that-be in Delhi, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
At least a couple of Chinese military helicopters were spotted flying close to the un-demarcated Sino-India border in the area after the fierce face-off on May 5 following which a fleet of Sukhoi-30 jets of the Indian Air Force too carried out sorties there, the sources said.
Against the backdrop of the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh, the White House press secy said the United States was closely monitoring the current situation and supports its peaceful resolution.
'One must remember that a dragon has a forked tongue,' warns Vivek Gumaste.
He said that following a build-up of troops, multiple transgressions and attempts to unilaterally change facts on the ground by China, there have been several levels of talks and a fair amount of communication to ensure that the matter can be resolved through negotiation and diplomacy.
He also said it was important that even during the difficult moments of this "crisis" India has been communicating and engaging with China.
China is in no hurry to disengage at the border and the region and international community is moving on. The spectre of a long haul in Ladakh haunts India, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The MEA said it was the Chinese side that recently undertakook activities hindering India's normal patrols in the areas.
'We must compartmentalise issues, ensuring that one disagreement does not sour everything,' advises Ambassador Kishan S Rana.
Answering questions on the clashes near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector which resulted in injuries to both sides, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said that the most pressing issue for the world at present is the fight against the coronavirus.
'Once positions are hardened and troops start building defences, it is difficult for soldiers to step back.'
'One lesson to emerge out of the Modi-Putin summit is that India can be more self-confident that it possesses inherent strengths to leverage its interlocutors to influence Pakistani policies,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A feature of this year's BRICS summit was economic cooperation.
By jettisoning the vision of multilateral world in favour of a Han Empire, China has posed a major long term challenge to India. India must stand firm against Chinese expansionism but also keep a door open for future detente by making a clear distinction between Chinese people and the current Chinese leadership, observe Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (Retd) and Colonel Anil Athale (Retd).
The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Playing down its unsuccessful bid to establish diplomatic ties with Bhutan, China on Monday said it is glad to see New Delhi and Thimphu develop their relations further during the just-concluded visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Through the past 18-month period, peace has prevailed in the disputed border regions, which was immensely helpful in the difficult situation that the country was passing through, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Modi said India and Russia have been friends for a long time and thanked Putin for inviting him for the first-ever informal meeting at Sochi.
'If the situation escalates, then mini-scale firing might happen.'
'The world does not care about the tension on our border.' 'India has to emerge as a strong economic power.' 'Respect comes when the world sees a country with a direction and leadership that has a vision,' points out Ramesh Menon.
Just like China wants Trump to lose the US presidential poll, it may want Modi to lose the Lok Sabha polls. So months before the 2024 elections, China may take possession of an important area, say one of the Char Dhams, warns Sanjeev Nayyar.
The intrusions into India were likely carried out by the PLA's better trained and equipped 'mobile operational units'.
An MoU on sharing hydrological information of the Brahmaputra River by China to India and another pact on amendment of the protocol on phytosanitary requirements for exporting rice from India to China to include non-Basmati rice were signed after the Modi-Xi talks in the eastern Chinese port city.
Prime Minister Modi told President Xi that he has made efforts to improve ties with Islamabad but these efforts have been "derailed".
Modi will have a number of high-profile multilateral and bilateral meetings with global leaders including United States Vice President Mike Pence and Singapore premier Lee Hsein Loong.
'The Chinese forces in the narrow Chumbi Valley are currently in the line of sight and fire of Indian forces poised on the ridges along the Sikkim-Tibet border.' 'Aware of this vulnerability, the Chinese have been eyeing the Doklam plateau,' explains national security expert Nitin A Gokhale.
'The Indian strategy is to rope in the powerful Pakistan army in the negotiating spectrum. This can be done at the level of General Janjua, a former army commander,' reveals Rajeev Sharma.
Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said troops from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'violated' the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements on the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
This is the first such incident along the border with China that Indian armed forces personnel have been killed after a gap of nearly 45 years.
China on Thursday tried to play down the continuing border standoff at Chumar coinciding with the visit of President Xi Jinping to India, saying the incident has been "effectively controlled and managed".
With the continuing stand-off in Ladakh casting a shadow over the Sino-India talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday raised 'serious concerns' over the repeated incidents along the border and sought an early settlement of the boundary question.
India and China on Wednesday signed in all nine agreements, including the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement and one on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, after restricted and delegation-level talks that lasted over two hours as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang met for the second time this year for talks which the Indian leader described as "fruitful and productive".
