National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held a meeting with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi during which he emphasised the need for continuing efforts to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas to remove the 'impediments' to normalcy in bilateral relations.
It is apparent that an easing of tensions at the border and a disengagement of troops is on the cards, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In the fresh round of talks, the Indian side is expected to press for disengagement of troops as soon as possible in all the remaining friction points besides seeking resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
The two sides agreed that the next round of military dialogue should be held at an early date.
South Korea's move to ban stock short-selling may further delay its quest to bag an 'upgrade' to 'developed market' status from global index provider MSCI, said analysts. South Korea will prohibit stock short-selling until June 2024 to allow its regulators to "actively" improve rules and systems. South Korea is currently classified as an 'emerging market (EM)' alongside India, China and Taiwan in MSCI indices.
China has chosen to keep New Delhi guessing, while retaining for itself the option of constantly changing facts on the ground and shifting the LAC westwards -- the strategy called 'salami slicing', notes Ajai Shukla.
Indian troops are defending every inch of the border with China and not even a single inch of land has been taken over by the neighbouring country in recent years, Ladakh Lt Governor Brig (retd) B D Mishra said on Thursday.
Jaishankar said India should be confident enough to "leverage" the international system to create the "best possible outcome".
The joint statement said Jaishankar and Wang agreed that both sides should take guidance from the series of consensus reached between leaders of the two countries on developing India-China relations, including not allowing differences to become disputes.
'As China rises and India grows to reclaim their earlier positions on the world stage as two of the largest economies and most important countries, there will indeed be some contention between these two powers.' 'There will also be plenty of space and room for cooperation amongst the two of us.' 'As our economic size increases to match the fact that we are the two most populous nations on earth, it will be all the more important for us to keep the interests of our peoples as well as those of the rest of the world in mind.' 'We shall have to grow together rather than as separate and disparate entities,' points out Ambassador Gautam Bambawale -- who served as India's ambassador to China -- in the 7th annual lecture of the Indian Association of Foreign Affairs Correspondents on March 1, 2019.
Urals and Sokol accounted for every 4 out of 5 barrels of Russian supplies to India last year.
The sources said both sides held extensive deliberations on modalities for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh at the talks.
The external affairs ministry said the talks were 'positive'.
The Dalai Lama's proximity to the Chinese border will anger the Communist dictators in Beijing, who despise the Tibetan spiritual leader who retains his influence in his homeland 64 years after he fled Tibet.
As among the fastest growing economies of the world, India, China and Brazil not only have developed a new level of influence at the global level, but are expected to take increased level of responsibilities to smoothen world trade, an official US report has said.
In the last five years, imports from HK have more than tripled -- from $5.6 billion in FY15 to $17.1 billion in FY20. In the same period, exports declined by 20 per cent -- from $13.6 billion in FY15 to $10.8 billion (annualised) in FY20.
The draft will be examined, studied and discussed before it is tabled in the assembly on February 6, he said.
The disengagement plan was discussed between the two sides during the 8th Corps Commander-level talks which were held on November 6 in Chushul.
The enhancement of combat capability by the two armies in the region came even as both the countries continued their efforts to resolve the dispute through talks at military and diplomatic levels.
A day after the nearly 12-and-half-hour talks, the two sides, in a joint statement on Monday, reaffirmed that the resolution of the pending issues would help in the restoration of peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region and enable progress in bilateral relations.
Sheikh Hasina was on Thursday sworn in as the prime minister of Bangladesh for the fifth term, days after her Awami League won an overwhelming majority in the general elections boycotted by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies.
"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.
The US has all along interfered in India-China issues. The objective is clear: Bring the Sino-Indian standoff to a flashpoint that would compel Modi government to take shelter under an American umbrella, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism.'
India and China are likely to hold the 16th round of high-level military talks on July 17 to resolve the issues in remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
'We are developing infrastructure on the mountains and deploying the troops on hill borders in such a way that it is ensuring the safety of the people there.'
'Unquestionably, the spirit behind the Panchsheel agreement and the 'Hindi Chini bhai bhai' slogan were thrown overboard by the Chinese, and a trust deficit was injected between the two nations.' A revealing excerpt from General J J Singh's The McMahon Line: A Century Of Discord.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing in Beijing that "at the moment the situation in the boundary region between China and India is overall stable and controllable".
He said both sides reaffirmed to sincerely work towards complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC.
Greeting the jawans on the occasion, the prime minister said their devotion to duty in the remote icy heights, is enabling the strength of the nation, and securing the future and the dreams of 125 crore Indians,
Prime Minister Modi and President Xi held the conversation on Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in Johannesburg.
The scaling up of the India-US strategic partnership to the level of non-NATO ally with defence deals, sharing and transfer of defence technology, interoperability, joint collaboration and joint production of defence equipment has exacerbated Moscow's anxiety, notes Rup Narayan Das.
The Chinese inference is that if the Chinese visa is embossed on an Indian passport, held by Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh, it may be tantamount to recognising Indian sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, states Rup Narayan Das.
The DG of the ITBP said his troops have been provided with special winter clothing and nutritious food as they brave the severe chill in eastern Ladakh where the armies of India and China are locked in a tense standoff for over six months. He said 'strains in bilateral relations are already evident but we are confident these will be sorted out peacefully very shortly'.
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.
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.
There was no official word on the outcome of the talks.
The last contact between India and China was the military talks at the Corps Commander level in October this year.
The seventh round of military talks between India and China held on Monday was "positive and constructive", and both sides agreed to earnestly implement the understanding reached by their leaders to not turn differences into disputes, a joint statement by the two armies said on Tuesday.
As per the sources, the discussions between the two sides include pulling back tanks and armoured vehicles from their present positions, and some development in this regard is likely to take place in the next few days.