On the eve of his visit to China, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday made it clear that Arunachal Pradesh is not disputed and that India will not give up its right over it.Talking to reporters in Chennai, he acknowledged that Chinese troops have been indulging in incursions and that Indian security forces had been asked to be alert and maintain vigil along the border to stop such intrusions."We have a democratically-elected government there," he said.
Until Delhi and Beijing resolve outstanding border issues within an accelerated time frame, standoffs like Doklam will be repeated across various peaks along the Himalayas, says Mathew Maavak.
Sources said the issues to be raised during the monsoon session of Parliament starting July 19 were discussed at a meeting of the Congress parliamentary strategy group on Wednesday, which was chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi and attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
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.
However, Denmark said it is difficult to conclude on the real intention behind this.
The Chinese and the Indian troops were engaged in a standoff for 73 days in Doklam.
A controversy was kicked up on Thursday with China's state-owned television CCTV showing India's map without Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh while reporting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit.
The move was aimed at 'reaffirming China's claim over the state'. China claims the state as 'South Tibet'.
One hopes the new Lok Sabha will mark a break from a dismal tradition -- lack of interest in defence and security policies, argues Colonel Anil A Athale.
Downplaying the recent war of words with China, India on Wednesday expressed confidence that the boundary dispute would be resolved amicably through dialogue.
China and India have agreed to work to maintain peace along the Line of Actual Control and resolve the border standoff through talks while implementing the consensus reached between the two countries' leadership that 'differences' do not escalate into 'disputes', a top Chinese official said.
As exit polls pointed to the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in the general elections, a leading Chinese daily on Wednesday expressed hope that the new government likely to be headed by Narendra Modi will be 'pragmatic' towards China while adopting a tougher line on the border dispute and Tibet.
'India and China are already in a warlike situation.'
'but the terrorism issue should be fair, square at the centre of the conversation. It is the major issue ... I am not saying there are no other issues. But I am not going to duck that issue for the sake of talking'
The Chinese inference is that if the Chinese visa is embossed on an Indian passport, held by Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh, it may be tantamount to recognising Indian sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, states Rup Narayan Das.
The Supreme Court issued notice to the Maharashtra government on a plea of Karnataka seeking to restrain its neighbouring state from setting up Marathi-speaking school in the disputed border area on Friday.
Although India's economic ties with China are being reinforced, it will not be at the cost of downplaying possible threat perception, India's Minister of state for Defence M M Pallam Raju said in Kolkata on Tuesday.
India and China will hold a new round of negotiations on the vexed border issue which is an area of 'differences and divergences' despite bilateral relations having witnessed 'visible improvement', External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday. He said both countries have an established mechanism at the level of special representatives to deal with the border issue at the political level. "They have completed 12 rounds of talks," he said.
The Supreme Court had ruled in Vodafone's favour in 2012.
No one can capture an inch of Indian land till the Narendra Modi government is in power, Home Minister Amit Shah said Tuesday and claimed the actual reason behind the Congress disrupting Lok Sabha proceedings was not the clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers but a question on the cancellation of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
Rebuffing China's claim on Arunachal Pradesh, India on Sunday asserted that the north eastern state is its integral part and ruled out ceding any of its part.
Ruling and opposition members in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday sparred over 'foul' remarks made by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Rajasthan's Alwar, with treasury bench members seeking an apology from him.
A staggering 83 per cent of Indians view China as a major security threat, even as 63 per cent would like relation with the neighbouring country to be strengthened, an opinion poll has claimed.
Police sources said the state forces exchanged fire for about 40 minutes.
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.
The Dalai Lama will be in the north eastern state from April 4 to 13 and Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju.
Singh visited Tawang on Thursday for the 'Maitree Diwas' celebrations to boost civil-military friendship in the region bordering China.
Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell made the remark on Thursday, adding that the Trump administration is closely watching the Indo-China situation.
National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Monday held talks in Beijing with senior Chinese diplomat and his counterpart for the boundary negotiations Dai Bingguo and discussed wide-ranging bilateral issues.
'I strongly urge China to respect norms and use diplomacy and existing mechanisms to resolve its border questions with India'
China on Thursday said it is verifying Indian Defence Minister A K Antony's allegations that the Chinese helicopters violated Indian airspace twice last month and reiterated its stand to resolve the border dispute with India through negotiations.
Unlike Indo-Pak talks, which are equally sensitive, India-China border talks have been low-key without arousing any kind of unrealistic optimism or expectation. Talks have been slow, but steady, without meeting any roadblock. This is symbolic of maturing of relationship between the two countries which has been achieved over the years.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday received External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj
The fighter plane has been untraceable since Tuesday.
"India is open to engaging with all its neighbours on the basis of mutual sensitivity and mutual respect, in an environment of trust and confidence. This is a continuous process and requires constructive and positive efforts," Srivastava said.
Asked about the reports of the troops on both sides disengaging and moving back to their previous positions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a media briefing in Beijing that both sides are taking steps to ease the situation along the borders.
Avoidable unpleasantness has recently crept into India-China relations over issues, which should not have been overdramatised by China thereby injecting a certain distrust into the relations which had been progressing well despite continuing differences over the border dispute between the two countries.
Some organisational changes are likely in some of the key army formations.
Dai Bingguo, who served as the China's boundary negotiator with India from 2003 to 2013, told Chinese media, "If the Indian side takes care of China's concerns in the eastern sector of their border, the Chinese side will respond accordingly and address India's concerns elsewhere."
Pakistan has asked India to reschedule talks on the Sir Creek border dispute which were to be held in New Delhi next week, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.
