India and China decided to seek a fair and rational solution to their border dispute on Saturday as they focused on the proposed border defence cooperation agreement to avert incursions like the one witnessed in Leh region last month.
If Indian strategists think that the 60 billion dollars bilateral trade with China is an insurance against a Chinese surge along the borders, they are mistaken.
The number of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has been increased from 180 to 195 as part of plans to better operational capability and border management, a top official said on Friday.
Asserting that sovereignty and territorial integrity of China are "sacred and inviolable", the country's national legislature has adopted a new law on the protection and exploitation of the land border areas, which could have bearing on Beijing's border dispute with India.
The discussions took place on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
'It showed me that this man had courage. He makes his own decisions, but he also trusted me enough in that moment to walk with me into the crowd,' Modi tells Lex Fridman on his podcast.
The United States is closely monitoring the situation along the India-China border, a senior official said on Tuesday and expressed concerns over Beijing's pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbours.
'The government will ensure that India's pride is not affected as far as the situation along Indo-China border is concerned'
India has told China not to "shift goalposts" and "confuse" managing the border affairs and restoring peace at the frontiers with the larger issue of the resolution of the boundary question, which is dealt with by different designated mechanisms.
This was the first round of talks for Wang after he succeeded State Councillor Yang Jiechi earlier this year.
If China is accommodating regarding Depsang and Demchok, a resolution of the Sino-India territorial dispute in Eastern Ladakh could be possible.
"We villagers are not against the Army or the government. But getting a compensation for their land is the right of the villagers," Rana said.
By staying engaged in the useless border talks, knowing fully well that Beijing has no intent to settle territorial issues, India gives greater space to China to mount strategic pressure and gain leverage, notes strategic expert Brahma Chellaney.
The Army said Gen Pande witnessed Parvat Prahar exercise besides interacting with officers and troops deployed in the region. The exercise featured a display of operational capabilities by artillery guns and other key weapon systems.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal ahead of his first state visit to the United States, Modi also talked about the Ukraine conflict, saying some people say that India is neutral but it is on the side of peace.
It was for the first time that the high-level military talks on the lingering border row spanned two days.
The sixth round of India-China special representative-level border negotiations began in Beijing on Monday as part of efforts of the two Asian giants to reach a package to solve the vexed boundary issue.
'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.
The heightened state of alert was only relaxed after Wang met his Jaishankar in Moscow on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, a second source said.
Her comments come a day after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in Geneva that roughly 75 percent of the "disengagement problems" with China are sorted out but the bigger issue has been the increasing militarisation of the frontier.
China and India should put their differences on the border issue at a "proper position" in bilateral relations and stick to the "right direction" of bilateral ties, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday.
After the 1962 War with China, there was a demand to forge greater defence cooperation between India and the West. One such voice was that of Sudhir Ghosh, a distinguished MP, to tie up strategic cooperation with the USA immediately after the Chinese attack on India, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Leh has conducted research on the double hump or Bactrian camels which can carry load of 170 kilogrammes at an elevation of 17,000 feet height in the Eastern Ladakh region.
Anjaw MLA and state's women and child development minister Dasanglu Pul confirmed that the duo went missing along the border with China while looking for medicinal herbs.
As of now, in the case of China's border dispute with India, China is not likely to lose much if it does not resolve the dispute. In fact, the unresolved border dispute has much to offer to China, says Sana Hashmi.
India and China on Friday held 'in-depth' discussions on addressing the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, holding that disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake provided a good basis to work towards their early resolution.
Officials said that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has started the work on cutting the road from KMVN Huts in Nabhidhang in Pithoragarh district to Lipulekh pass on the India-China border, which will be completed by September.
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.
Wang also condemned the April 22 terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which had cross-border linkages and triggered the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in years.
India and China are likely to hold another round of diplomatic talks this week on eastern Ladakh with a focus on moving forward in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.
Relations between India and China have been in an 'abnormal state' since the 2020 Galwan clash and it is a 'possibly longer than medium-term issue', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in New York.
There are 176 border posts along the India-China border at present.
India and China have agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas which was a "pre-requisite" for continued growth of bilateral relations as also to enhance cooperation in key areas, including counter-terrorism, maritime security and civil nuclear energy sector.
A total of 750 pilgrims have been selected through a computerised draw for the upcoming Kailash Manasarovar Yatra in Tibet, marking the resumption of the pilgrimage after a five-year gap. The Yatra's resumption is seen as an attempt to normalize India-China relations, which were strained by the eastern Ladakh border standoff. The pilgrimage will begin in June and continue until August, with pilgrims traveling in five batches via the Lipulekh route and ten batches via the Nathu La route. The selection process was deemed "fair, computer-generated, random, gender-balanced" by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), which organized the pilgrimage.
In the talks, China emphasised that the two sides should proceed from the fundamental interests of China, India and adhere to the strategic height and long-term perspective of China-India relations, the readout said.
China supplied more than $20 billion worth of arms to Pakistan. These include 20 J-10CE and JF-17 Block III fighter aircraft, Wing Loong drones, frigates, submarines, Hongqi HQ-9P surface-to-air missiles, 240 PL-15E air-to-air missiles, LY-80 air defence systems, ZDK early warning aircraft and other weapons.
Jaishankar, speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Asia Society, said that India has built the relationship with China over the course of last 30 years "and a basis for building that relationship has been peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control".
The General said it was "too early" to take a call on the role of Bangladesh, where a change in government may bring about a change in the relationship between it and India.
Kicking off his four-day visit, General Suhag met General Li Zuocheng, the head of China's ground forces which have undergone major restructuring in the last three years.
