'India knows very well that China will not be at a disadvantage in any China-India military operations along the border area'
The nuclear-tipped Agni-III has all cities in both Pakistan and China, including Beijing, within its striking range and will be India's second strike deterrent.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
Trump has a major decision to take in coming days -- specifically, how to rescue Israel from the attritional war that lies ahead, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
According to the 'Military and Security Developments involving the People's Republic of China' report 2023: "Since early May 2020, sustained tensions along the India-China border have dominated the Western Theater Command's attention."
The meeting started at around 11.30 am at Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) opposite Chushul to defuse the tensions in Eastern Ladakh sector due to Chinese military build-up, the sources said. This is the second meeting between the two corps commanders.
The compulsion behind India and Japan to deepen security cooperation is in response to China's growing political and economic clout and its assertive behaviour in disputed areas. This has been the key driver for bringing both India and Japan closer in the domain of security cooperation, explains Dr Rajaram Panda.
Asking the US to respect the efforts by China and India to resolve their boundary dispute peacefully, a top Chinese official on Monday said the two nations are wise enough to deal with it after the Pentagon accused Beijing of deploying more troops along the Sino-India borders.
China was a major focus during talks between United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Indian political leadership during his two-day visit.
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.
China is expanding its nuclear force and is likely to have a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, up from the current estimated number of 400, the Pentagon has said in a report that notes that Beijing aims to expand its national power through both domestic and foreign policy initiatives.
Any miscalculation and miscommunication are fraught with the risk of a major catastrophe, warns Rup Narayan Das.
'And this will persist given the two-and-a-half-front threat we face.'
China is expected to boost its nuclear arsenal after President Xi Jinping's remarks at the key Congress of the ruling Communist Party in Beijing for the first time that Beijing will establish strong strategic deterrence, experts have said.
India is trying hard to erase Indonesia's wariness about New Delhi, building security cooperation in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. If Indonesia decides to buy the Brahmos missile, it would further strengthen relations between the world's most populous nation and the most populous Islamic country.
China's rapid military build-up is a direct threat not only to Taiwan but to the United States, Japan, and Australia, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian warned in an interview published on Saturday.
'India's military posture has become significantly stronger than China's on the 3,500-kilometre Line of Actual Control.' 'This is enhancing confrontation between the two sides,' points out Ajai Shukla.
Jaishankar said, "The immediate part which awaits us is what we call the de-escalation, which is the build-up of forces along the Line of Actual Control."
"China creeps towards hegemony in Asia, threatens India's borders, and treats other countries as junior partners, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said.
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, during a media briefing in Beijing, said that China's position on the border related issues is clear and consistent. "We have been following the important consensus reached by the two leaders and strictly observing the agreements between the two countries," he said, apparently referring to the directions of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their two informal summits, asking the militaries of the two countries to take more confidence building measures to maintain peace and tranquillity along the borders.
The government needs to answer the critical question of whether it has accepted any restrictions on its infrastructure creation activities, asserts Ajai Shukla.
The Indian Army has been matching up to the Chinese build up in both Pangong Tso lake and Galwan Valley, the two locations in Ladakh which have witnessed major reinforcement of troops in the last two weeks, sources said. There was very little chance of easing of tension anytime soon as both sides are aggressively holding onto their respective positions, they said.
The US president previously offered to mediate between India and Pakistan, a proposal rejected by New Delhi which maintains that there is no role for any third party in bilateral issues.
In the test, a space rocket boosted a hypersonic glide vehicle, one capable of carrying a nuclear device, which circled the globe before impacting.
Throughout its standoff with India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Chinese officials sought to downplay the severity of the crisis, emphasising Beijing's intent to preserve border stability and prevent the standoff from harming other areas of its bilateral relationship with India, the Pentagon said in a report on Tuesday.
India's relations with China cannot be normal as long as Beijing tries to unilaterally change the Line of Actual Control and continues to build up forces along the border, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.
The Chief of Air Staff, addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, asserted that the IAF will continue to remain deployed along the frontier in the region till complete disengagement takes place in the remaining contested areas.
Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to President Trump and as National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, said she expected the same bumps for India and the US, as in Trump's first term, including tariff, dependence on Russia over arms supply and oil purchase from Iran. Curtis, however, said both countries could never enter an alliance but develop a partnership that is "short of an alliance". She hoped them to achieve a cooperation that deters China, but also prepares both countries in case of a crisis or conflict, be it in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, or another flare-up on the India-China border.
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).
The political-electoral calculus favours spending thousands of crores on vanity projects like Sardar Patel's statue and the Central Vista over building up our military to handle the confrontations and conflicts that loom large, points out Ajai Shukla.
The talks would be held in Moldo opposite the Chushul sector in India.
This is a high-stakes strategic conflict between a power which wants to preserve the status quo in its favour and one which wants to usurp that throne. The rest is all theatre, says Harsh V Pant.
Zhao said some US officials are trying to add fuel to the fire and pointing fingers.
'If you behave like a nail, the adversary will behave like a hammer.'
The Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020, when a violent clash between the two sides erupted in the Pangong lake area.
"We are capable of properly resolving the issues between us through dialogue and consultation. We do not need the intervention of the third party", he said.
Days after a Pentagon report said Beijing built a large village in a disputed territory in the Arunachal Pradesh sector, India on Thursday said it has neither accepted any illegal occupation of its territory by China nor has it accepted unjustified Chinese claims.
Satellite images dated August 17, 2021, have revealed upgraded infrastructure near the Depsang plains along with the Western sector of the LAC between India and China.
The last contact between India and China was the military talks at the Corps Commander level in October this year.
'It is only when Beijing sees a country with an infirm political will such as India that it acts up as the PLA has done in eastern Ladakh.'
