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's engagement with China is "complex" and Chinese attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh starting from April-May 2020 seriously disturbed the peace and tranquillity in border areas, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said in a report on Monday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday handed over to the Army a raft of home-grown military hardware including unmanned aerial systems, quick reaction fighting vehicles, patrol boats and surveillance equipment for boosting its overall combat capability in eastern Ladakh.
When asked for an update on Tuesday's military-level talks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides reached progress for promoting further disengagement of the border troops at the Western Sector.
China on Friday hiked its defence budget to $209 billion, maintaining a single-digit growth for the sixth consecutive year with a 6.8 per cent increase in 2021.
Troops of both the countries are locked in a tense standoff in the disputed areas of Pangong Tso and Galwan Valley along the LAC.
The decision to disengage the forces, locked in a bitter standoff for the last six weeks in eastern Ladakh, was taken at a nearly 11-hour-long meeting between senior Indian and Chinese commanders in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday.
"I still have not heard a credible explanation as to why they chose to bring that size of forces to that sector of our border. Now, if peace and tranquility is disturbed and attempts are being made to change the LAC status quo unilaterally and large forces are brought to the border in contravention of written agreements, then obviously the relationship will be impacted," he said.
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.
The Army Chief further spoke about the situation at other friction points where China was aggressive like Gogra Hotsprings.
After rallying 543 points in the morning session and touching the 40,000-mark, the BSE Sensex surrendered all gains to close at 38,628.29, showing a loss of 839.02 points or 2.13 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty tanked 260.10 points or 2.23 per cent to end at 11,387.50.
'This reluctance to respond forcefully to Chinese PLA provocations and outright aggression has as much to do with Prime Minister Modi personally, as with the institutional mindset of the MEA or even the Indian Army.' 'They are scarred by the 1962 War and are still cowed by China.'
'If you batted an eyelid and drifted the vehicle a little, you'd certainly hit the unsteady rocks and meet your end. Or so it seemed.' 'By the way, did I tell you that we were cruising at approximately 12,000 feet and above?'
'The General appreciated the importance of history in understanding modern conflict.' Tibetologist Claude Arpi recalls his meetings with General Bipin Rawat.
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.
DoT is even considering measures to urge private telecom operators to bring down their dependence on Chinese-made telecom equipment.
Talks between the two sides were held on June 6 at the military commanders' level, including the 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh from the Indian side while the Chinese side was represented by its South Xinjiang Military District commander Major General Liu Lin at Moldo opposite Chushul in Ladakh.
'We hope the Indian side will work with China to follow through the important consensus of our two state leaders, abide by relevant agreements and treaties to de-escalate the tension at the border'
The MEA said it was the Chinese side that recently undertakook activities hindering India's normal patrols in the areas.
'Our villagers used to go up to Finger 4 and Finger 6, but today the Chinese are there.' 'Since April 2020, Chinese troops have blocked Indian troops from reaching at least ten patrolling points running from the Depsang plains in the north to Pangong Tso lake in the south.'
'Having tied himself in knots, he just might take a decision which is dangerous, one that could take his nation to war.'
"China creeps towards hegemony in Asia, threatens India's borders, and treats other countries as junior partners, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said.
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.
He said both sides reaffirmed to sincerely work towards complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC.
Sources said the Indian troops resolutely confronted the Chinese PLA soldiers.
India and China made progress in five-six friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh through talks in the last three years and efforts are underway to resolve the remaining issues, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.
In the last couple of weeks, the Chinese forces have brought in heavy air superiority aircraft like the Sukhoi-30 and its strategic bombers to the rear locations which have been detected flying near the Indian territory maintaining the 10 km plus distance from the boundary.
The Army Chief was in Ladakh on a two-day visit from June 23 to take stock of the situation.
Singh said this is a moment where we must stand together as a nation and be united in our response to this brazen threat.
The comments came in the backdrop of the continuing standoff between the militaries of India and China at the LAC.
'The Chinese have been moving in step by step; inch by inch for the last 40 years.'
During their hour-long in-person meeting on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave in Dushanbe on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also told his Chinese counterpart and State Councilor Wang Yi that any unilateral change in the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was 'not acceptable' to India and that the overall ties can only develop after full restoration of peace and tranquillity in eastern Ladakh.
'If one puts the context of what Xi Jinping said at the UN about not wanting a 'hot or cold war with any country', one realises that his speech was quite bizarre.' 'The world does not expect such statements from China, a nation aspiring to be a superpower.
China is ready to take "conciliatory steps" in order to avoid new violations of the obligations on the India-Chinese border, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday, a day after holding a crucial meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over the current standoff in Ladakh. Speaking during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Wang said troops and equipment should be withdrawn from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
'The numbers of troops on both sides are enormous.' 'They are about 50,000-60,000 soldiers facing each other in that sector -- that's about the total number of troops that both sides had in the 1962 War in all sectors.'
These missiles have a range of two to five km and they are capable of bringing down low flying helicopters and aircraft, they added.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the two ministers discussed the outstanding issues related to disengagement from all friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.
'China would want to take a tougher stance against India forming those strategic partnerships and prevent Quad from becoming a military alliance.'
India and Pakistan have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, according to a joint statement on Thursday.
'I want to assure this House that in these talks we have not conceded anything.' Full text of what Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament on the Chinese pullback in eastern Ladakh.
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