The NDRF has deployed its first-ever team of cadaver dogs to help locate those feared dead in the cloudburst incident in Uttarakhand. Disaster swept through the Himalayan village of Dharali on the way to Gangotri on Tuesday with a massive cloudburst leading to flash floods that barrelled through homes, trees, and cars, trapping 60-70 people and leaving at least four dead.
Jaishankar said diplomacy is a work of patience and India continues to discuss the issues with the Chinese side.
India and China have announced a series of measures aimed at improving their relationship, including maintaining peace along the border, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flights.
Foreign policy expert C Raja Mohan has said that the recent disengagement of troops with China in eastern Ladakh has given a small opening to India, but the "big issues" remain. He also stressed the importance of strengthening India's ties with the US for technological and economic growth.
Former Army chief Gen M M Naravane (retd) said India-China ties are "on the mend" with initiatives announced at political, diplomatic and military levels. He expressed hope that China will reciprocate India's goodwill as they move forward in discussing the boundary question.
India successfully test-fired nuclear-capable short range ballistic missiles Prithvi-II and Agni-I from an integrated test range off the Odisha coast, demonstrating its strategic deterrence capability. The test-firing of the missiles, conducted by the elite Strategic Forces Command, validated all operational and technical parameters.
The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China is stable but there is a need to keep a very close watch on it, Army Chief General Manoj Pande said on Friday amid the nearly three-year-long border row in eastern Ladakh.
The Supreme Court has stayed the Bombay High Court verdict acquitting all 12 accused in the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blasts case, issuing notices and seeking responses from the accused.
The Indian Army has released photos and videos of its soldiers playing cricket at a very high-altitude forward location in eastern Ladakh amid the lingering border row with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region.
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.
China has called Tibet-related issues a 'thorn' in India-China bilateral relations and a 'burden' for New Delhi, ahead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to China.
'If they can be duplicitous, we can be equally duplicitous.' 'If they offer friendship, we reciprocate.' 'If they choose hostility, we respond with equal hostility.'
India on Wednesday outright rejected China's attempts to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such 'preposterous' attempts will not alter the 'undeniable' reality that the state 'was, is, and will' always remain an integral part of India.
India has significantly enhanced military infrastructure, surveillance and combat capabilities along the nearly 3,500 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China since the deadly clashes in Galwan valley in 2020, sources in the defence establishment said Wednesday on the eve of the third anniversary of the hostilities.
India and China should build on 'good progress' in normalising the bilateral ties to address border-related issues including de-escalation, and it is essential to avoid 'restrictive trade measures and roadblocks', External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.
'Pralay' is a 350-500 km short-range, surface-to-surface missile with a payload capacity of 500-1,000 kg. The solid-fuel, battlefield missile is based on the Prithvi Defence Vehicle.
He said China has accrued significant capacities for force mobilisation, application, and sustenance of military operations and maintained the long-pending boundary issue can not be divorced from bilateral relations between the two Asian giants.
The Indian Air Force will carry out a mega exercise covering the Northeastern region early next month to check its combat readiness, amid a fresh spike in tension with China along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh.
China defends its construction of a dam on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet, addressing concerns from India and Bangladesh about its potential impact on water flow and the environment.
India and China have held their first diplomatic talks since withdrawing troops from two face-off points in eastern Ladakh, reflecting on the lessons learned from the border row to prevent future incidents. The two sides agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas, prepare for the next meeting of Special Representatives on the boundary question, and highlighted the importance of regular exchanges and contacts at diplomatic and military levels. The talks come after the completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points, following an agreement finalized in October 2022.
'New Delhi is not naive about its foreign policy choices.'
Sources said the Indian troops resolutely confronted the Chinese PLA soldiers.
Sources said the exercise is aimed at checking the IAF's overall combat capability and military preparedness in the region.
The Chinese military has been behaving aggressively over issues in the Yangtse in the vicinity of the Holydip and Parikrama area on the LAC where the Chinese side has been opposing Indian positions.
At a press conference ahead of the Army Day, Gen Pande also said that the troops deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have been able to maintain a robust posture to defeat any evil design of the adversary with a firm and resolute manner.
On development of infrastructure by China in border areas, the Army chief said it is going on unabated.
China on Wednesday said it was opposed to the joint Indo-US military exercises being held near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), asserting that it violates the spirit of the two border agreements signed between New Delhi and Beijing.
'The logic every one of our neighbours must realise is that working with India will give you benefits, and not working with India has a cost.'
The Chinese Army troops try to enter these areas every year and try to patrol out their claim line which India does not allow.
Freedom of speech is subject to reasonable restrictions and it does not include the freedom to make defamatory statements against any person or the Indian Army, the Allahabad High Court has said, rejecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's plea to quash summons against him for alleged derogatory remarks during his Bharat Jodo Yatra in 2022.
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Throughout its standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinese officials sought to downplay the severity of the crisis, emphasising Beijing's intent to preserve border stability and prevent the standoff from harming other areas of its bilateral relationship with India, the Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday.
The Indian Army has set up two armoured vehicle maintenance and repair facilities near the China border in Nyoma and the DBO Sector in that region at altitudes of over 14,500 feet in the area, which is the world's highest battlefield for tanks and infantry combat vehicles along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
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The External Affairs Ministry claimed that more than mere courtesies were exchanged between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China President Xi Jinping at Bali G20 Meet in November 2022.
The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)in eastern Ladakh remained 'very fragile' and is 'quite dangerous' in military assessment because of close deployments of troops of both sides in some pockets though substantial progress has been made in the disengagement process in many areas, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday.
But there is a bigger issue that both of us have brought forces close up and in that sense there is a militarisation of the border, he said.
The virtual talks took place under the framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs.
The exchange took place at five Border Personnel Meeting points along the LAC, the sources added.
