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.
Present vice chief Lt Gen BS Raju would be succeeding Lt Gen AS Bhinder who is superannuating on February 28 at the South Western Army Command.
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.
"The Chinese military has done military build-up not only just in Ladakh but also in other sectors including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh wherever it shares borders with us. The build-up includes troops and heavy weaponry which are deployed in rear positions," government sources told ANI.
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.
'Terrorists who are active in Poonch and Rajouri are not relying on random locals for logistics, guidance etc.' 'They are being supported by a selected few who are being vetted, cleared and directed from across the LoC.'
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 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.
At present, the Chinese Army has diverted its troops carrying out a massive exercise on their side of the LAC and deployed them at short notice across the Line of Actual Control in the areas under the Indian Army's 81 and 114 Brigades deployed to counter the Chinese assertions from Daulat Beg Oldie and adjoining areas.
According to the government sanction, the fresh manpower will be utilised for manning 47 new border posts and a dozen 'staging camps' or troops bases along this frontier.
Yes, we (Quad) had a discussion on India-China relations because it was part of how we briefed each other about what was happening in our neighbourhood, Jaishankar said.
You don't want to fight and do trade at the same time. Meanwhile, diplomacy is going on and sometimes solutions to difficult situations do not come in haste, Jaishankar asserted.
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.
'I strongly urge China to respect norms and use diplomacy and existing mechanisms to resolve its border questions with India'
"China's position on the Zangnan region (South Tibet) is consistent and clear. We never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing while responding to a question.
Lt Gen (Retd) Puri and several other Kargil veterans who had played a decisive role in the 1999 war were felicitated by the Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan in Delhi recently.
While Indian Army soldiers are engaged in a standoff with the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Ladakh, the army's Eastern Army commanders are taking no chances in Arunachal Pradesh.
Right from the lofty title, Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha keeps aiming to be an epic, and keeps falling short, discovers Deepa Gahlot.
The govt said that the issue is sensitive and related to national security and thus can't be made public.
Tan said that China has always stressed that military cooperation of relevant countries, especially on exercises and training activities, should not be targeted at any third party, but rather serve to help maintain regional peace and stability.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane on Friday visited several forward areas in eastern Ladakh and carried out a comprehensive review of India's operational preparedness in the backdrop of its prolonged military standoff with China in the mountainous region.
Operation Meghdoot was launched on April 13, 1984, when the Indian Army and IAF advanced to the Siachen Glacier to secure the heights dominating the northern Ladakh region
"We will remember the soldiers' families, loved ones, and communities as they grieve," said Pompeo.
American Masai Russell won the Olympic 100 metres hurdles title in a blanket finish on Saturday.
The strengthening of the Mountain Strike Corps is part of the steps taken by the force to rebalance its focus more towards the Chinese border from the western front with Pakistan.
The talks till now have resulted in the resolution of issues in North and South Bank of Pangong Tso, Galwan and Gogra Hot Spring areas.
Top Pentagon officials have shown an understanding of India abstaining at the UN on resolutions against the Russian aggression against Ukraine but had a hard time pacifying many US lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on the Indo-Pacific on New Delhi's repeated abstention at the world body in New York.
The international community must be clear that such a behaviour is unacceptable, a top US senator said.
It also noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to Pakistani provocations.
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.
The step was taken by both the sides as they wanted to avoid a repeat of June 15 violent face-off as the troops were in close vicinity.
Gen Pande, who was serving as the vice chief, became the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to helm the force.
The commanders present in Delhi gathered at the South Block in Raisina Hills area, while many others joined the deliberations virtually.
Army chief General Naravane said the ongoing dialogue will sort out all the perceived differences between the two countries.
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.
'It has been doing yeoman service for the people of the North East.'
"We continue to be operationally deployed and ever vigilant," he said, adding the IAF continues to monitor all Chinese activities along the LAC.
General Officer Commanding-in Chief of the Eastern command, Lieutenant General R P Kalita, however, said the Indian side is also continuously upgrading its infrastructure and capabilities to deal with any situation which may arise along the border.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
