'The Chinese have not crossed the LAC in Galwan.' 'They are on their side of the LAC and we are on our side.'
The NSA particularly highlighted the need for resolving outstanding issues as quickly as possible and talked about the need for maturity and sincerity in dealing with the issue.
The fresh round of Corps Commander-level talks took place at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, they said.
The clear assertion by New Delhi came ahead of a fresh round of Lt General-level talks between the Indian army and the Chinese PLA which government sources said is set to take place within the next two days.
Raking up the border issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said every individual in Ladakh knows that China has "taken away our land" and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that not an inch of land was taken away was "absolutely false".
The last conversation between the two leaders was on April 4 on the issue of hydroxychloroquine.
'Everytime the Chinese raised the issue of our patrol crossing the line, I told them let's not fight over a line that does not exist yet.' 'Commanders resolved such situations sitting across the table, sometimes we posed veiled threats about creating problems elsewhere along the 800 km frontier as a tit-for-tat.'
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.
During the course of the intense and complex negotiations between senior commanders of the two armies that ended at 2 am on Wednesday, the Indian delegation also apprised the Chinese PLA about the "red lines" and conveyed that the onus was largely on China to improve the overall situation in the region, the sources said.
Ahead of the state assembly elections due this year-end, Baghel made as many as 15 announcements in his address during the state-level Independence Day function at the Police Parade ground in Raipur.
The two militaries are set to hold extensive talks on finalising modalities for restoring normalcy and bringing back peace and tranquillity in the region after the verification of the disengagement exercise is completed.
'Neither will China -- at least for now -- because its troops are deployed in equal strength.' 'We are negotiating at equal terms right now and it's a game of patience.'
'China has forcibly occupied territory it had never occupied before, blocked Indian patrols' access to areas they had patrolled for decades and, most provocatively, killed 20 Indian soldiers.' 'Most countries would regard these as acts of war.' 'New Delhi has apparently taken off the table the option of evicting the PLA with force,' observes Ajai Shukla.
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.
In fact, given the current tensions and massed troops on both sides, there is a danger that the LAC will become more like the Line of Control with Pakistan, a heavily fortified and strongly defended border where weapon fire exchanges regularly occur. Indeed, Stratfor Worldview research has listed a sharp increase in new Chinese facilities along the LAC in 2019-20.
"When we have something to share, we will share. Discussions are ongoing," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said replying to a volley of questions on whether India and China are working on specific proposals to resolve the over six-month-long row in eastern Ladakh.
'We would have faced many more Galwans had Indian troops not reacted and retaliated the way they did.'
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, during a media briefing in Beijing, said that China's position on the border related issues is clear and consistent. "We have been following the important consensus reached by the two leaders and strictly observing the agreements between the two countries," he said, apparently referring to the directions of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their two informal summits, asking the militaries of the two countries to take more confidence building measures to maintain peace and tranquillity along the borders.
The Indian delegation led by Lt General Harinder Singh, the general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, and Commander of the Tibet Military District Maj Gen Liu Lin held an extensive meeting in Maldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh on Saturday that began at around 11.30 am and went on till evening.
'Why wouldn't so strategically-minded an adversary, such as China, not militarily exploit to the maximum Indian timidity, stupidity, and cupidity all along the LAC and legitimate, as it has done so often in the past, the fait accompli of incremental territorial grabs which, by the way, is its strategy and policy as implemented on the ground?'
The actions on the ground would be confirmed and are expected to be followed up soon.
In a strong response to China's objection to development of infrastructure on the Indian side of the LAC, New Delhi also asserted that Beijing has no locus standi to comment on India's internal matters.
The meeting came after the Indian Army thwarted an attempt by the Chinese Army to transgress into Indian areas near the southern bank of Pangong Tso near Chushul in Ladakh on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.
In a statement, the Indian Army said the face-off was resolved by local commanders as per established protocols. The incident at Naku La became public on Monday hours after senior commanders of both the armies concluded a nearly 16-hour-long meeting in an attempt to defuse tension in eastern Ladakh.
In the first highest level face-to-face contact between the two sides after border tension erupted in eastern Ladakh in early May, Singh and Wei met for two hours and 20 minutes in Moscow on Friday evening on the sidelines of a meeting of the defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
His comments came in the midst of India's bitter border row with China along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
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The meeting was attended by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General M M Naravane, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh and Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria.
China and India have agreed to work to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control and resolve the border standoff through talks while implementing the consensus reached between the two countries' leadership that 'differences' do not escalate into 'disputes', a top Chinese official said.
'We have to be prepared on the borders to withstand Chinese expansionist designs.'
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
"A strict vigil is being maintained in almost all the sectors with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh as the Chinese suffered a setback in the southern Pangong Tso area and may try to make fresh attempts to ingress into newer dormant areas," government sources told ANI.
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.
There was no visible forward movement in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points as the Chinese side did not show flexibility in their approach on it at the 11th round of military talks.
The Indian Army's Shatrujeet brigade is conducting an airborne exercise along the northern borders in eastern Ladakh to validate its rapid response capabilities, sources said on Monday.
They said the Indian Army has further bolstered its presence around the Southern Bank area of Pangong lake by deploying additional troops and bringing in more weaponry including tanks and anti tank guided missiles.
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.
Citing media reports that China has built shelters in the Depsang area in Ladakh, the Congress on Saturday questioned the government's 'silence' over the issue and asked what steps were being taken by it to ensure status quo ante of April 2020.
These missiles have a range of two to five km and they are capable of bringing down low flying helicopters and aircraft, they added.
The Indian Army has been pitching for a faster disengagement process in areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang to bring down tension in the mountainous region.
