'In Chinese perception, India is strategically getting closer to United States and some Chinese analysts fear perhaps one day it may become a part of American arrangements against China.'
Military officials said India is also strengthening its surveillance mechanism to keep an eye on Chinese activities along the borders in the strategically sensitive Tibetan region and has even been regularly deploying choppers to carry out recce.
China will always try to set the agenda for negotiations and tries through such means to determine the direction of talks, and to avoid discussing subjects that may paint it into a corner or compel the Chinese negotiator to disclose their position prematurely.
'It is flabbergasting to think that this heavenly region has, for decades, been coveted by India's aggressive neighbours,' says Claude Arpi after a recent visit to Ladakh. 'Wanting to use the newly created infrastructure to defend the borders after the clash of 2020 with China and the resulting standoffs, the home ministry is keen to boost border tourism to show that these areas are controlled by India.'
China's parliament on Thursday adopted the 14th Five-Year Plan, the mega blueprint containing billions of dollars worth of projects, including the controversial hydropower project on the Brahmaputra river in Tibet close to the Arunachal Pradesh border over which India has raised concerns.
Joshi's reaction came after Gandhi termed as "very serious" the issue of China releasing a "standard map" that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, and claimed the neighbouring country has already taken India's land in Ladakh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should speak on the issue.
The BRI, a pet initiative of President Xi, is aimed at promoting network of roads, ports and rail networks all over the world to spread China's influence.
'Intrusions by PLA troops in the Ladakh sector are more in number than elsewhere and this region is now likely to remain an area of enhanced Chinese interest,' warns China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
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.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing that "the Indian side should fully recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama."
India on Thursday strongly rejected China renaming 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state has 'always been' and will 'always be' an integral part of India and that assigning 'invented' names does not alter this fact.
China has been taking "incremental and tactical actions" to press its claims at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India and has unsuccessfully sought to prevent New Delhi from deepening its relationship with the US during and subsequent to the standoff, the Pentagon has said in a major report on China's military modernisation.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway line into Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway project. It will go through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world's most geologically active areas, according to the Chinese official media.
'Information about the Dalai Lama's heath is normally not shared with the public. Its release on this occasion implicitly underscores the message that the window of opportunity for Beijing to recommence the dialogue with the Dalai Lama -- an advocate of non-violence -- to resolve the contentious Tibetan issue is limited.' says Jayadeva Ranade.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet and routinely protests visits by Indian leaders, foreign officials as well as the Dalai Lama to the area.
"The reservoir capacity of the project is less than 0.02 per cent of the average annual runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo-Brahmaputra. It cannot have an adverse impact on the downstream," Chinese foreign ministry said to a question on concerns over the dam.
'The PLA has continued to do exercises and drills and recently carried out air exercises with fighter jets.'
'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.'
China routinely objects to Indian leaders' visits to Arunachal Pradesh to buttress its stand.
India on Monday said it was 'conscious and alert' about China's military modernisation and infrastructure development in Tibet and adjoining areas and noted that it had taken 'necessary steps' to restructure its force levels along the border.
The government on Wednesday said any attempt by China to set up a hydropower station on the Brahmaputra river will act as an encroachment on the entitled rights of lower riparian states like India and Bangladesh and adversely affect the availability of water in its basin during the lean season.
He said China's "growing imprint" will surely increase contestation and competition in the economic domain and it will attempt to keep India engaged on issues relating to the unsettled borders.
Situated at a height of 15,200 feet above sea level, the pass sits on the top of a craggily formed Himalayan range that separates the Tibetan plateau from the Indian sub-continent.
From March 1959 to March 1962, the PLA fought 12 major battles in central Tibet which was seen as an opportunity to train China's soldiers, notes Ajai Shukla.
A powerful senatorial committee on Wednesday is set to consider a bipartisan resolution to recognise Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, pushing back against China's military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control.
The world must hang its head in shame for being a mute spectator to the 'cultural holocaust' in Tibet, says Major General Mrinal Suman (retd).
China on Friday said that any successor to the present Dalai Lama should be approved by it, ruling out recognition to any heir nominated by him or by his followers.
The Chinese authorities have been rapidly building defence infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control, indicating that they are preparing for a long period of tension with India, points out Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
The Indian defence ministry said its border security personnel, as per standard protocol, immediately alerted their Chinese counterparts to locate the UAV and they later reverted with its location.
China on Wednesday warned that it will take "necessary measures" to defend its territorial sovereignty and interests after India "obstinately" allowed the Dalai Lama to visit the "disputed" parts of Arunachal Pradesh causing "serious damage" to the bilateral ties.
'The potential of one such LAC engagement going out of control and leading to heavy casualties cannot be ruled out,' warns Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Lu said China will take 'further action' to safeguard its sovereignty.
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.
China has chosen to keep New Delhi guessing, while retaining for itself the option of constantly changing facts on the ground and shifting the LAC westwards -- the strategy called 'salami slicing', notes Ajai Shukla.
Nearly two decades ago, then defence minister George Fernandes said: 'China has built roads up to the border, while there has been negligence on India's part.' Since Fernandes uttered these brave words, what has been done on the Indian side? The Modi Sarkar is apparently trying, but little has been achieved so far, says Claude Arpi.
Public interest centres on whether the two leaders might make headway in resolving the Sino-Indian boundary dispute.
Xi arrived at the Nyingchi Mainling Airport on Wednesday and was warmly welcomed by local people and officials of various ethnic groups, Xinhua news agency reported.
The papers said India is using the Dalai Lama as a "diplomatic tool" against China for its "vice like veto" against India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group and United Nations ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.
Tawang wears its history -- and also its present -- with ease. The flourishing town, with restaurants selling everything from noodles to dosas and locals returning home to new business prospects, shows little sign of the tension building up at the border about 40 km away to the north.
