The Indian Army began patrolling at Demchok on Friday, days after Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement at the two friction points in eastern Ladakh, Army sources said.
India's relations with China cannot be normal as long as Beijing tries to unilaterally change the Line of Actual Control and continues to build up forces along the border, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.
The Indian Army has commenced a verification patrolling at Depsang, the second friction point in eastern Ladakh, the government said on Saturday.
India and China held diplomatic talks in Beijing, focusing on effective border management and the resumption of cross-border cooperation and exchanges, including on trans-border rivers and the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra. The meeting explored measures and proposals to implement decisions made during the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue in December. Both sides agreed to work together for the next SR meeting in India later this year.
The Indian Army will not let China change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) "unilaterally" and its current deployment along the frontier was not seen before, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, rejecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the government's handling of the border row.
The transgression took place on August 30, and the Chinese troops returned from the area after spending few hours, they said.
Sources had earlier said that the areas and patrolling status were expected to be moved back to pre-April 2020 level.
This is Gen Pande's first visit to the sector after taking over as the chief of the Indian Army on April 30.
Chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat on Thursday said the controversy about the Chinese coming into the Indian territory and building a new village is 'not true,' and that the villages were well within the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.
The stand by China spelt out by its foreign ministry insisting that it takes the 1959 line on perception of the LAC amid a nearly five-month-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh triggered a strong reaction from India.
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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.
China on Wednesday said the latest round of the border talks with India was held in a "candid and pragmatic atmosphere" and the two sides had a "positive, constructive and in-depth discussion" on the resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector.
The meeting primarily focused on implementation of certain decisions taken at the fifth round of talks between Corps Commanders of the two armies last week on the disengagement process as well as to bring down prevailing tension in the region, sources said.
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.
The Chinese aircraft have been regularly flying close to the LAC in the last three to four weeks which is seen as an attempt to probe the Indian defence mechanism in the area.
Xi asked about their condition and whether they were able to "receive fresh vegetables" in the inhospitable terrain.
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Jaishankar said India had agreements with China not to mass force in the border areas.
Defence sources stated that the disengagement involves removing infrastructure and withdrawing troops from both sides. The process is expected to be completed by Tuesday.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has stated that peace and tranquility in border areas are essential for the development of bilateral ties with China. He said India will be discussing de-escalation and effective management of activities in border areas with China in the coming days, following the completion of troop disengagement in eastern Ladakh. Jaishankar emphasized the importance of respecting the Line of Actual Control (LAC), maintaining the status quo, and adhering to past agreements. The disengagement phase allows for discussions on other aspects of bilateral engagement, with national security interests prioritized. However, the statement sparked an uproar in the Rajya Sabha, with Opposition MPs demanding clarifications that were disallowed by the Chair, leading to a walkout.
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China on Wednesday said the Chinese and Indian militaries are implementing the resolutions concerning the disengagement in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in an 'orderly' manner.
The MEA said there has not been any change in India's position on the LAC and the mutual redeployment as a result of the disengagement process should not be misrepresented.
Jaishankar said China, in violation of the 1993 and 1996 agreements not to mass troops on the Line of Actual Control, chose to do so, and added that its attempt was obviously to unilaterally change the LAC.
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria asked the air warriors to maintain a very high-level of alertness considering the evolving situation in Pangong lake region in eastern Ladakh following China's unsuccessful attempts to occupy certain strategic points in the area, the officials said on Thursday.
The eastern Ladakh military standoff between India and China began in May 2020 and a deadly clash at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between the two neighbours.
Lt Gen Dwivedi, who was referring to the clash between the Indian soldiers and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, also said that PLA's aggression in eastern Ladakh was met with "swift mobilisation and appropriate force posturing".
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday took a strong stance on the Indo-China border issue by saying that any unilateral attempt to change the Line of Actual Control (LAC) will not be 'countenanced' by India.
In a meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Dushanbe on Thursday, the two foreign ministers exchanged views on the current situation in the region and agreed that military and diplomatic officials of both sides should meet again and discuss resolving the remaining issues at the earliest.
India is preparing to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, after a three-year hiatus. The decision comes as part of efforts to improve relations between India and China, which have been strained since a military standoff in 2020. The two countries have also agreed in principle to resume flight services between them.
'Surgical strikes or air strikes, or both, are likely on the table.'
Indian Army planners find themselves contemplating the possibility of more Chinese intrusions along the contested 3,488-km border. That could lead to the army having to man a 'hardened LAC' round the year, like the LoC with Pakistan, reports Ajai Shukla.
The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
"India exercises with whomever it chooses to and it does not give a veto to third countries on these issues," the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said.
The 16th round of military talks between India and China on the lingering border standoff in eastern Ladakh will be held on July 17 on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region, official sources said on Friday.
The shelters were installed in locations near Tashigong, Manza, Hot Springs and Churup among others, in reflection of simmering tensions between the two sides in the region.
"The Modi government's approach to the entire crisis could be described as DDLJ: Deny, Distract, Lie and Justify," Ramesh said.
Jaishankar made these comments against the backdrop of the over five-month-long border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh where each side has deployed over 50,000 troops.
'Every decision India makes along the LoC, it must also consider implications along the LAC.'
