'Clarifying that modernisation of national defence and armed forces should be completed by 2035, Xi Jinping asserted the goal is to make the People's Liberation Army a "world class force" that "can fight and win" by 2050,' points out former RAW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
'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.
'Our biggest advantage is that the troops are much better trained and motivated than the Chinese and can improvise and manage with a part of the resources.'
'The last ten months show that India is not going to trust China.' 'Our military commanders are not going to believe that all is well till it actually is.'
The sources said the Indian Army has been on a very high level of alert and is ready to deal with any eventuality in the area.
China dismissed the reports as groundless.
India's top military and strategic brass on Tuesday reviewed the overall situation in eastern Ladakh amid indications that the latest round of talks between senior military commanders of Indian and Chinese armies on the next phase of disengagement of troops may not have produced encouraging results, people familiar with the developments said.
Chinese army on Wednesday reportedly made a fresh incursion in Chumar area and refused to return even as a flag-meeting between the two sides is believed to have made no headway in breaking the deadlock.
The Indian Army on Friday strongly insisted on early disengagement of troops by China from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh at the eighth round of corps commander-level talks between the two sides that primarily focused on a roadmap for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the region, according to people familiar with the developments.
'Our defence services are in a position to checkmate any Chinese adventurism.'
Future, even present, wars -- at least those involving such tech giants as China -- include hi-tech battlefields, which a Pakistan-obsessed India has not sufficiently prioritised. Today's generals plan on how to disrupt an enemy city's power supplies, rail networks, airports, ports, and government departments, not just by bombing or torpedoing them; they also examine the option of tripping up the computer networks that run these, notes David Devadas.
The Chinese Communist Party's all important 19th Party Congress is just months away, and President Xi Jinping finds himself confronting unlikely challenges to his pre-eminent position, says former RA&W officer and China watcher Jayadeva Ranade.
All that India must aim for is to match China's military prowess adjusted to equal Beijing's India-specific military capability, argues Vivek Gumaste.
Operationalisation of a new border defence agreement to deal with recurring troop incursions along the LAC besides improving defence ties, is expected to top the agenda of General Bikram Singh as he starts a rare visit by an Indian army chief to China from Wednesday.
According to convention, Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi should be named as General Dalbir Singh Suhag's successor as army chief
'The leverage created by the Indian military must not be lost.'
Besides being the President, 62-year-old Xi is already General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission.
'The Chinese thought India would back off. 'They did not expect such a firm Indian response to their expansionist manoeuvre.'
The Indian Army's Northern Command would be stretched if all three of the corps under it -- based in Leh, Srinagar, and Nagrota (near Jammu) -- were to face hostilities, notes David Devadas.
Security expert B Raman on the emerging situation in Nepal after its PM Prachanda resigned.
'To deal with a bully, you have to deal from a position of strength, not a position of weakness.'
'When the adversary has tasted what you can do, he is going to be more experienced in countering how the Indians think.' 'He will go back, rework and come back.'
The Army has also further bolstered overall surveillance mechanisms in all areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after foiling China's fresh attempt to occupy an area on the southern bank of Pangong lake, they said.
Thimpu apparently didn't think it necessary to take Delhi into confidence. Bhutan is loathe to getting dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between India and China. And for Beijing, this was too good an opportunity to be missed to thumb its nose at the powers-that-be in Delhi, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
China for the first time has divulged the deployment of a nuclear submarine for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, a move defence experts say could cause unease among neighbours, including India.
Lt General Ranbir Singh described the situation in Kashmir as stable but fragile.
The operational alert allows troops to get acclimatised to high altitudes, renovate the bunkers and trenches from which they would fight, break out ammunition, and carry out the coordination needed to fight an integrated defensive battle.
'An all-out war affects the whole nation.'
The timed bomb was planted on a bicycle parked in front of a tea stall owned by one Rafique Ahmed who was killed in the blast along with seven-year-old Safique Ali.
Having the ITBP and the Army at the same operational location will resolve these issues as well, the sources said.
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
Indian military sources said no firearms were used in the clashes and that most of the injuries were sustained following stone-pelting and use of rods by the Chinese side.
'New Delhi showed itself willing -- at least for a period -- to tolerate the risk of conflict and to withstand Beijing's implicit and explicit threats.' 'But it also continued to try to cut some kind of deal with China to reduce tensions.'
Opposition to tri-service structures comes not just from bureaucrats and politicians as the generals like to lament, but equally from within the military. Neither the army, navy or air force chiefs want to relinquish control over their theatre commands, with these cutting edge units placed under some commander who reports elsewhere, says Ajai Shukla.
Markets, banks, business establishments and educational institutions were closed and transport services were suspended.
India and China on Monday decided to deepen bilateral defence ties and maintain peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control besides strengthening cooperation against terror, including at the international level.
'We will not accept these misadventures by the Chinese.'
The onus today is on China, but it also requires a little diplomatic finesse from India, backed by a modernised armed force, argues BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in this excerpt from his new book, Himalayan Challenge: India, China And The Quest For Peace.
'When you look at the border -- from Ladakh to Arunachal -- which is called the Sino-Indian border, but in effect it is actually the Indo-Tibet border.' 'Since the borders are still not secure, it has resulted in transgressions in Galwan, Dokalam etc.'
Army chief General M M Naravane on Tuesday hoped for an amicable resolution of the military standoff with China in Ladakh through talks based on 'mutual and equal security' even as he said India will have to be prepared to deal with a 'two-front' threat scenario due to the potent and collusive threat from China and Pakistan.
