'China continues to perceive its relations with India through the prism of India-US relations, with the US using India to counter balance against China in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.'
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
The Indian and Chinese militaries held a fresh round of high-level military talks focusing on maintaining peace and security along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
'China's basic purpose of taking the Shaksgam Valley was access to the Indian Ocean.'
China does not have to give up what it took in 2020, it will never give up its claim to Arunachal Pradesh, Ladakh and other areas, and it has all the time now to plan its next surprise, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
'If they can be duplicitous, we can be equally duplicitous.' 'If they offer friendship, we reciprocate.' 'If they choose hostility, we respond with equal hostility.'
India has to fill in all the critical gaps in missiles, ammunition, sensors and stockpile in the fastest possible manner, focusing on the critical instruments that worked this time, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Xu, 60, is expected to travel to New Delhi soon to take over his new posting.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were on Thursday seen having brief exchanges ahead of a media briefing by the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) leaders in Johannesburg.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping India's concerns on the "unresolved" issues along Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh during a conversation on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg are being finalised, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday but did not give a direct reply on the possibility of a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The talks are following up the outcome of the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks held between the two sides on August 13-14 at the Chushul Moldo border meeting point.
'My understanding is that by the time President Xi Jinping came for the Chennai summit [2019], he had already instructed his army to undertake the action in Galwan in the summer of 2020.'
Former ISI DG Faiz Hameed's arrest sends a strong message to PTI supporters that Imran Khan's culpability for the May 9, 2023 violence could well be drawn within the purview of military courts, especially if General Hameed turns approver to save his skin, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The sources have said that patrolling will begin at these points once the disengagement that began last week is completed and both sides will move their respective troops and dismantle temporary structures.
India has lodged a "solemn protest" with China over the establishment of two new counties in the Hotan prefecture, as parts of these regions fall within India's union territory of Ladakh. The Indian government asserted that the creation of these counties will not impact its sovereignty over the area and does not lend legitimacy to China's "illegal and forcible" occupation.
China's Defence Ministry says the militaries of China and India are making "great progress" in implementing the disengagement agreement to end over four-year-long standoff in eastern Ladakh. Spokesman Sr Col Wu Qian said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun had a positive meeting in Vientiane, Laos, last week, and the two sides are implementing the settlement reached between the two counties. The two ministers agreed to implement the important consensus reached between the top leaders and promote stable relations between the two countries, the spokesman said.
Following the disengagement, both sides will soon start the coordinated patrolling in their respective areas, sources added.
China has said that the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh by the Chinese and Indian armies is going on "smoothly" following a recent agreement between the two nations.
Aware of simmering dissensions within the top echelons of the army, Munir has moved slowly in reshuffling senior generals, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
If China is accommodating regarding Depsang and Demchok, a resolution of the Sino-India territorial dispute in Eastern Ladakh could be possible.
His attack on the government came days after Indian Army personnel clashed with Chinese soldiers in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh.
The timing of these transfers, while being projected as routine, is significant in both strategic and political terms, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The former beat Andhra XI while Signals got the better of Karnataka XI in the Beighton Cup hockey tournament.
General Bajwa and the outgoing DG, ISI Lieutenant General Naveed Mukhtar, had a long meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'Putin will not be bound by any kind of deal he would sign with the US.'
Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the need for the recruitment of new talent to support the rapid modernisation of the armed forces and win future wars amid reports that the military has committed more resources to enrol 3 lakh personnel for frontline positions.
'While my generation carries with it the memory of the Chinese perfidy of 1962, this generation will carry the memory of Chinese perfidy in Galwan.'
Lieutenant General Sahir Shamshad Mirza is the Pakistan army's new chief of general staff, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
This military visit came amid heightened tensions between China and United States, with issues pertaining to disagreements over Taiwan and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disengagement of Indian and Chinese troops has started at two friction points in Demchok and Depsang Plains in the Eastern Ladakh sector, defence officials said.
After the Ladakh fiasco where Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics, he has to save face before his colleagues in the Communist party.' To bring the threat of a mega-dam to the northern Indian border is a clever move, observes Claude Arpi.
Despite persisting questions among peer officers in the army about his professional competence and ethics, after his recent 'triumphal' Kabul sojourn, Faiz Hameed remains the hot favourite of both General Bajwa and Prime Minister Imran Khan, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
'Disengagement is merely the first step in a lengthy process of arriving at a new normal along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh and the entire land boundary.' 'The Indian government should insist on the restoration of the status quo ante in Eastern Ladakh.'
The focus of the talks will be to ensure mutual development and expanding overall ties, diplomatic sources said.
'We should not allow ourselves to be surprised in any manner in future on the border.'
'However, a lot of preparatory work would have to go in and China must be prepared to announce an end to the standoff by disengaging from the remaining areas along the LAC.'
'Given China's past behaviour and their territorial claims, should we be sceptical regarding China's willingness to adhere to these agreements fully? The answer is yes.' 'As Ronald Reagan famously said in the context of the SALT talks, 'Trust, but verify!' India should also do the same.' 'This has already begun with foot patrolling, drones, satellite imagery and so on. India's military deployment did mirror China's and will continue to do so in the future.'
Lt Gen (retired) Asif Yasin Malik, a close aide of Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, has been appointed as the country's new defence secretary.
Did Xi deliver a message to Modi at Mamallapuram, which though couched in a velvet glove was time-bound? What was that message? It is clear Indian/Israeli/US spy satellites would not have missed detecting Chinese troop movements towards the Ladakh-Tibet frontier. Then why did some important functionaries in the Government of India choose to only ask the Russians about this in April 2020? Was Russian reassurance of Chinese troop movements being part of a routine exercise the reason that the Leh-based XIV Corps did not mobilise itself for its annual summer exercises near the LAC? A fascinating excerpt from Iqbal Chand Malhotra's new book Red Fear: The China Threat.
