President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday strongly defended the three new agri laws saying their benefits have begun reaching 10 crore small farmers instantly, and condemned as 'very unfortunate' the Republic Day violence and 'dishonour' to the tricolour during the tractor parade by the protesting farm unions in New Delhi.
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.
India and China on Monday held a fresh round of military talks with a focus on disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh and ease overall tensions in the region.
Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh Tapir Gao said on Wednesday that a teenager, identified as Miram Taron, was abducted by the People's Liberation Army from Lungta Jor area under Siyungla area on Tuesday.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
'It is because of the bravery of Colonel Santosh Babu and his men that we have not seen a violent escalation anywhere else along the LAC.'
'The Arunachal border is not demarcated in that way, so there can be differing perceptions (between two sides)'
China has started the construction of at least 13 entirely new military positions including three air bases, five permanent air defence positions and five heliports near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the aftermath of the Doklam standoff in 2017, according to a report by global security consultancy Stratfor.
Sources said the Chinese had come heavily prepared but did not expect the Indian side to be well prepared.
India on Monday pressed for early disengagement of troops in remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh during a fresh round of high-level military talks with China, people familiar with the matter said.
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RCB head coach Andy Flower too was happy with the acquisitions.
The United States' Department of Defence said that it continues to closely watch developments along the Line of Actual Control at the India-China border and noted that China 'continues to amass forces and build military infrastructure along the so-called LAC'.
The test-firing of the missile from the Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast came amid India's lingering border row with China.
The increase in India's military spending was "mainly a result of growing personnel and operations costs" which made up almost 80 percent of the total military budget in 2023, the SIPRI report claimed.
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said when the elections are over, people will only remember him as the PM who indulged in 'divisive and communal speeches filled with lies' to avoid an inevitable defeat.
About 416 Myanmarese soldiers crossed over to India in view of the situation arising out of the fighting between Myanmar's armed ethnic groups and the government forces, and Indian military is 'closely watching' the unfolding developments, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said on Thursday.
Indian graziers were stopped by Chinese troops from moving ahead near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Demchok region of eastern Ladakh over a week ago, people familiar with the development said on Monday.
Senior government sources told ANI that one such camp is coming up few kilometres inside the Chinese territory opposite the Naku La area in north Sikkim area, which is barely a few minutes distance from the area where Indian and Chinese troops had clashed last year when the confrontation started and also in January this year.
'In the short term the relationship will get worse.'
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It is on the exact spot where the Guru is said to have created 108 waterfalls, that the Yangtse clash took place between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA on the night of December 9, 2022. As it had done in Ladakh in May 2020, the PLA tried to change the unmarked LAC in the Yangtse sector in Arunachal Pradesh. It was the most serious border incident since the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, notes Claude Arpi.
The Indian Army bravely prevented the Chinese PLA's attempts to unilaterally change the status in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector on December 9 and confronted it with firmness, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.
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In a major technology push, Indian Army has envisioned construction of "permanent defences" along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh using cutting-edge 3D printing technology, a move that will save time and improve its defence preparedness, sources said on Tuesday.
India on Thursday once again called for completion of the disengagement process at the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh to pave the way for both the Indian and Chinese troops to consider de-escalation and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquillity in border areas.
India has not yet received any confirmation on Chinese President Xi Jinping's in-person participation at the upcoming G20 summit, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday amid reports that he is likely skip the conclave.
India and China held a special round of military talks on Tuesday at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point in Eastern Ladakh to discuss air space violations and provocations by the Chinese side in that area in the last 45 days.
The Indian Army is effecting a major "reorientation" and "rebalancing" of its troops in the strategically sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, with a top general saying its overall combat readiness in the region is of a "very high order."
India and China agreed during their military talks on Sunday to stay in close touch and work out a mutually acceptable solution to the "remaining issues" in eastern Ladakh at the earliest, but there was no indication of clear forward movement in ending their three-year-long border standoff.
The Indian Olympic Association, on Friday, announced a Rs 50 lac cash award for the gold medal winning athlete in the Rio Olympics.
The two-day mega exercise is involving almost all its frontline fighter jets and other assets deployed in the region, people familiar with the drill said.
Two days ago, the Chinese foreign ministry following a meeting between NSA Ajit Doval and top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Johannesburg claimed that Xi and Modi had reached an 'important consensus' on stabilising bilateral ties at the interaction on the margins of the G20 Summit last November.
The Congress MPs have given adjournment notices in both houses of Parliament to discuss the border situation with China.
A joint statement released on Thursday said both sides exchanged views in an 'open and constructive' manner to resolve the 'relevant issues' and that it was agreed to maintain 'security and stability' on the ground in the region.
General Naravane said that the Chinese army has been trying to alter the status quo along the LAC in very 'small incremental steps' and over a period of time Beijing has gained a lot.
China plans to build a new highway along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India as part of Beijing's efforts to strengthen its strategic position and project its power, a media report said on Wednesday.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has decided to donate Rs 6 lacs -- Rs 50,000 each -- to the families of the 12 Central Reserve Police Force jawans killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh last week.
'The PLA is under constant watch.' 'There is an escalation matrix. For every degree of escalation, responses are thought of and trained for.'
This would be the first time that the Indian artillery would have these types of 105 mm mounted howitzers and would add to the strength of the formations deployed in forward positions, they said.
