Referring to their ties with China, India and Japan on Monday agreed that it was essential to engage China in a closer, more open and productive dialogue as both Tokyo and New Delhi are desirous of peace in the region. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan discussed the issue of boundary disputes with China -- while India faces border issues over land, Japan is engaged in a maritime territorial row -- in Tokyo.
Rawat had said there was a major reduction of Chinese troops in the Doklam area.
Sitharaman visited forward army posts in remote Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh bordering China on Sunday to take stock of the defence preparedness.
China is keen to resolve in a "peaceful manner" its longstanding boundary dispute with India and wants to ensure that 2012 is a year of cooperation and development between the two sides.
Key to China's decision regarding Taiwan will be its leadership's assessment whether the US will come to Taiwan's defence, explains Jayadeva Ranade, the former senior RA&W officer and China expert.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday said he views the current situation in Ukraine as an issue of humanity and human values and not of politics or economy even as he called for respecting international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations.
The order for the second batch of the assault rifles would be coming after the first lot of 72,000 rifles, has already been delivered to the army for use by troops in Northern Command and other operational areas.
The Defence Minister's reply came in response to a question on whether satellite images have revealed that China has constructed seven helipads in Doklam besides deploying tanks and missiles in the area.
The army chief said that India needs to broaden its understanding of national security and must examine non-traditional threats like pandemics "de-novo" as they have the potential to inflict severe damage on the country. "We need to act and prepare ourselves accordingly."
Sources also asserted that there was a "status quo" at the Dokalam for past six weeks.
India and China sorted out their differences on the issue of stapled visas to Kashmiris leading to resumption of defence ties in 2011, a year which also saw postponement of key boundary talks and Beijing's unease over Indian efforts to improve ties with East Asian nations.
It is time the political leaderships in this country arrived at a common ground over issues of foreign and security policy concerns. There has to be a greater communication between the government and the Opposition leaderships for the nation to present a unified face against the rest of the world, advises N Sathiya Moorthy.
India should encourage the second coming of SAARC with climate change as an urgent agenda and keeping Indian security concerns in mind as the subtext, suggest Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
'If the Bangladesh-China relationship strengthens further, it can only be to India's detriment,' notes Vice Admiral Premvir Das.
The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India.
The Indian Army has been pitching for a faster disengagement process in areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang to bring down tension in the mountainous region.
China said that it had put off the visit of Indian pilgrims who enter Tibet via the Nathu La pass "for safety reasons" in view of the border issue.
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.
The last conversation between the two leaders was on April 4 on the issue of hydroxychloroquine.
Lu said China will take 'further action' to safeguard its sovereignty.
Army Spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said troops from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) 'violated' the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements on the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh, and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.
The Army has also further bolstered overall surveillance mechanisms in all areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after foiling China's fresh attempt to occupy an area on the southern bank of Pangong lake, they said.
Public interest centres on whether the two leaders might make headway in resolving the Sino-Indian boundary dispute.
'If, as appears to be the case, India is on way to 'mending fences' with China, and China is equally desirous to 'reset' the relationship, this could be a self-reflexive moment in India's positioning vis-a-vis not just the Dalai Lama, but also the Tibetan issue and China as a whole,' points out China expert Alka Acharya.
We do not expect other countries, including China, to comment on the matters which are internal to India, the MEA said.
Nepal witnessed political turbulence in 2022 that dramatically turned rivals into allies and throned former guerrilla leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the prime minister for a third time, as Kathmandu made efforts to balance ties with immediate neighbours India and China with high-profile talks and visits.
Arpi deserves to be complimented for the commitment and hard work that have gone into this production. The frustrations of seeking reliable documentation from the catacombs of the Indian bureaucracy did not deter him from going after the best information available, and the result is one that he can take much satisfaction in. Ambassador Prabhat P Shukla, Member Advisory Council, Vivekananda International Foundation, reviews Claude Arpi's The End of an Era: India Exits Tibet.
The deliberations focused on bringing down tension along the disputed borders and ways to bridge the trust deficit.
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said that the Tibetan spiritual leader's visit to the border state is completely religious and no political motive should be ascribed to it.
'It is certainly time for New Delhi to open up. Not only should it go ahead at full steam with the roads to the LAC, but the government must also allow tourists to visit these stunningly beautiful areas of Indian territory.'
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to travel to India on September 5 on a three-day official visit during which defence cooperation and regional stability are likely to be the focus of her talks with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, an official said on Monday.
'With the recent challenging of the notion of the Indian Ocean Region being India's strategic backyard, China is gradually upping the ante in the maritime realm around India.'
'Both sides had candid and in-depth discussions over easing the current border situation and reached positive common understandings,' it said. 'Both sides welcomed the progress achieved in the recent military and diplomatic meetings, agreed to stay in dialogue and consultation, and stressed the importance to promptly act on the consensus reached in the commander-level talks between Chinese and Indian border troops, and complete disengagement of the front-line troops as soon as possible,' it said.
'The Chinese can't be trusted hence the need to verify and re-verify.'
The destabilising and corrosive behaviour of the Chinese Community Party in the Indo-Pacific region is simply not helpful and some of the defence infrastructure that is being set up by China near its border with India is alarming, US Army's Pacific Commanding General Charles A Flynn said on Wednesday.
'This is potentially escalatory, as China does not believe that India has any basis for interfering in a bilateral dispute between China and one of its neighbours.'
China's state-run media said that the leadership of the two countries successfully solved the Doklam standoff in 2017 with 'concerted efforts and wisdom'.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that the government will not allow India's pride to be hurt under any circumstances even as he said bilateral talks were on at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the row.
'How can a State, which claims to be a responsible power, unilaterally grab a "disputed" area to build a road on it?' asks Claude Arpi.
Local land records also say the land at Kalapani and Lipulekh belongs to the residents of two villages on the Indian side of the border, an official recently said.
