'China is unwilling to restore the status quo ante of April 2020.' 'India will have to weigh its options based on this premise.'
'India cannot allow Beijing's policy of stabilising and destabilising the border at will to perpetuate its own ends.' A riveting excerpt from Manish Tiwari's 10 Flashpoints; 20 Years National Security Situations That Impacted India.
In a joint statement, the two armies said it was agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and ensure that the frontline troops exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation.
Military affairs experts said his key challenge will be to build consensus among the three services for the theaterisation plan as the Indian Air Force has some apprehensions about its roll-out.
Sources said the Indian delegation was warmly greeted by senior officials of the Chinese Army before the talks began.
Wrapping up his two-day visit to Ladakh, Gen Naravane said the Indian Army has undertaken precautionary deployment in some areas and that the force is well prepared to safeguard the territorial integrity of the country.
The Indian side is expected to present specific proposals at the talks to deescalate tension in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Demchok -- the three areas in eastern Ladakh where the two sides have been on a bitter standoff for last one month, the sources said.
India has made it clear to China that peace and tranquillity in border areas is essential for the development of overall bilateral ties and the relationship has to be based on the 'three mutuals' of respect, sensitivity and interest, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said.
Gilgit Baltistan's large frontage with Kashmir and Ladakh across Kargil and the Siachen Glacier gives Pakistan and China the perceived scope for conduct of collusive operations against India and wrest control of the major course of the Indus and Shyok, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Keeping the contents of the BBC documentary aside, Rishi Sunak's response needs to be viewed in the backdrop of Britain's historically close relations with Pakistan, argues Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
'They also agreed that for the overall development of bilateral relations it was essential to maintain enduring peace and tranquillity in the border areas,' the MEA said in a statement.
The army said senior commanders of the Indian and Chinese military reviewed the progress on implementation of the first phase of disengagement and discussed further steps to ensure complete withdrawal of troops in the region.
'It is a game of patience. We have to stand firm and tire them out, which we are doing.'
Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said troops from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'violated' the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements on the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
The creation of a CDS has got the head right. Issues that were not talked about for years are now being discussed, points out Ajai Shukla.
This is the first such incident along the border with China that Indian armed forces personnel have been killed after a gap of nearly 45 years.
'The Chinese fault lines are tremendous and we need to exploit them.'
Bodies of five of the deceased have been recovered so far, while efforts are on to find the remaining five persons, whose chances of survival are bleak, a police official said in Srinagar.
The Leh deputy commisioner who drew army headquarters's attention is a highly regarded IAS officer, whose father is Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa.
Within the army, there is growing concern that New Delhi will allow the Chinese to retain the territory they have occupied in the last month.
"Numerous rounds of talks have taken place with the Chinese counterparts to deescalate the situation without compromising on India's stand of 'complete disengagement and immediate restoration of status quo ante'," the defence ministry said.
The two sides have already held at least 12 rounds of talks between local commanders and three rounds of talks between major general-rank officials but no positive outcome came out from the discussions, they said.
'China doesn't want to settle the boundary dispute because that gives them a reason to pick a fight with India.'
'Unless India ups the ante, Beijing will continue to believe its transgressions are cost free and will feel encouraged to do more of the same.'
Giving an account of India's overall military modernisation, Lt Gen Pande also said that an in-principle approval has been given to new combat formations called the Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) which can mobilise fast with a more effective approach.
Senior commanders of the two armies held intense negotiations for nearly 11 hours on Sunday at a designated meeting point in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.
The additional troops deployed on the LoC have been successful in foiling almost all the major attempts of infiltration and terrorists have not been allowed to cross over, sources said.
'If you behave like a nail, the adversary will behave like a hammer.'
The armies are working to schedule their seventh round of talks to take steps towards "early and complete" disengagement of troops along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
This was the first visit of Gen Parnaik to the forward areas in Ladakh region after taking over as the GOC Northern Command on January 1, according to a defence spokesman in Srinagar.
As per the agreement reached by the two sides, India and China will withdraw the forward deployment in a phased and coordinated manner, the defence minister said.
'The Indian government wakes up after the fact when it can do nothing, or rather lacks the will to prosecute military actions to reverse these adverse PLA-driven developments.'
'We are facing the most critical military situation with China in the last 50 years.'
General T N Raina was an iconic Indian military leader whose contributions to the nation should be more widely known, notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'India is not the India of 1962. We are not carrying that baggage of history anymore.'
It is the first highest level face-to-face meeting between the two sides after the border row escalated in eastern Ladakh in early May.
He said both sides reaffirmed to sincerely work towards complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC.
India and China on Saturday held another round of military talks with a focus on taking forward the disengagement process in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh and bring down the tensions in the region, official sources said.
Downplaying reports of India losing territory to China in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said there was 'no change' in the Line of Actual Control.Antony said the issue was raised at a meeting he had with Jammu and Kashmir government officials and Army officers in Jammu on Tuesday, where the Army Corps Commander for Ladakh had categorically reported that there was not much change in the situation along the LAC.
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.
