There was no official word on the outcome of the talks.
DRDO's failures over the decades have contributed significantly to India becoming the world's biggest weapons importer, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
After a gap of over two-and-half months, India and China on Sunday held the ninth round of military talks specifically focusing on ways to move forward on the long-negotiated disengagement process in eastern Ladakh as thousands of their troops remained deployed at friction points under freezing conditions.
China said on Tuesday that the current situation on the border areas with India was "stable" as it confirmed that the 14th round of Corps Commander-level talks to discuss the disengagement process in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh will be held on Wednesday.
'To deal with a bully, you have to deal from a position of strength, not a position of weakness.'
The commanders present in Delhi gathered at the South Block in Raisina Hills area, while many others joined the deliberations virtually.
The two countries have been engaged in a military standoff for almost a year but disengaged from the most contentious Pangong lake area last month after extensive talks at both military and political levels.
India and China have agreed to soon hold the 10th round of Corps Commander-level talks to take forward the de-escalation process in eastern Ladakh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
The naming of the places in memory of the soldiers comes days after Chinese military commander Qi Fabao, who was injured in the Galwan Valley clash with Indian troops in June, 2020, attended the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) Congress as a delegate.
The talks are being held with an aim of resolving the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh and reaching an agreement on the last remaining friction point in the Hot Springs area which had emerged post April-May 2020 aggression shown by Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
Northern Army commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Friday said the situation along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh was stable but in a state of "heightened alert" and asserted that there would be no security lapse on fronts of "operational preparedness and readiness" along the India-China border.
India and Chinese troops on Saturday exchanged sweets and greetings at 10 border posts along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including in eastern Ladakh to mark the New Year, officials said.
Singh conveyed to Li that India wants to improve relations with China but it can happen only after peace and tranquillity are restored at the border, the sources said.
The two sides have already held seven rounds of Corps Commanders level talks to discuss the entire issue of transgressions in the Eastern Ladakh sector.
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 agenda of the talks will be to firm up a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh, the sources said.
16 Indian Army divisions face China, 20 face Pakistan and two divisions are reserves. This powerful signal can hardly be missed in China or Pakistan, notes Ajai Shukla.
India and China are likely to hold another round of diplomatic talks this week on eastern Ladakh with a focus on moving forward in disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan is not going anywhere. That being the case, why is the hesitation to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Taliban? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
'All the government needs to do is to identify clear political and strategic objectives and to give the military planners a free hand,' asserts Ajai Shukla.
'Three decades of intensive discussions, protocols and Confidence Building Measures were jettisoned one fine morning in 2020.' 'The primary lesson that has been learnt is that that there is no reliability about the Chinese.'
China and India have maintained "candid and in-depth communication and coordination" to promote disengagement in areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after the eighth round of talks to resolve the current standoff, the Chinese military said on Thursday.
'I am ashamed we are dealing with such adversaries.'
The Indian side is expected to seek disengagement as soon as possible in the remaining friction points besides pressing for resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
'China and India have encountered some setbacks in recent years which do not serve the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples'
Military experts said the aim of constructing the bridge in the Khurnak area could be to ensure that the Chinese People's Liberation Army is able to quickly mobilise its troops in the region.
This is the first time that the defence ministry has admitted officially about the transgressions by the Chinese troops.
Sources said India will not lower its guard and will maintain the current state of very high-level of combat readiness in eastern Ladakh till there are visible changes in the ground situation.
The sources said the ongoing engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic levels have resulted in complete disengagement of troops at patrolling point 14, 15 and 17 A in eastern Ladakh.
The decisions were mentioned in a joint statement issued by the two armies late Tuesday, a day after the sixth round of Sino-India Corps commander-level talks that lasted for 14-hours.
It seems that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is not in a mood to de-escalate the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as it has continued deployment of around 40,000 troops in its front and depth areas for the Eastern Ladakh sector.
They said various Mandarin language courses are being run at the language schools at the Northern, Eastern and Central commands of the Army.
The disengagement of troops of the Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army from the Line of Actual Control was reached after sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level, said the ministry of external affairs last week.
Indian Army Chief General M M Naravane had said on Wednesday that India was hopeful of resolving issues related to disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Springs) in eastern Ladakh in the 14th round of talks.
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.
As the border standoff entered the sixth month, an early resolution to the row appeared dim with close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops remaining deployed in the high-altitude region and showing readiness for a long-haul. There is no official word on the talks yet but sources said the agenda was to finalise a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points.
There was no breakthrough on the disengagement of troops from the friction points in eastern Ladakh during the seventh round of military talks on October 12. "The eighth round of military talks is likely to take place this week," said a source on Tuesday.
'The military advantage the Indian Army had gained by the Special Frontier Force occupying the heights of the Rezang La-Rechin La ridge on the Kailash Range is lost without the PLA withdrawing to east of the Khurnak Fort line.'
The Army said it was also highlighted that completion of disengagement in other areas would pave the way for the two sides to consider de-escalation of forces and ensure full restoration of peace and tranquillity and enable progress in bilateral relations.
Sources said the process of disengagement along the Line of Actual Control is "complex", and in such a context, speculative and unsubstantiated reports need to be avoided.
