The central government on Monday appointed Army Vice Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Pande as the next chief of Indian Army.
The Indian Army will not let China change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) "unilaterally" and its current deployment along the frontier was not seen before, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, rejecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's criticism of the government's handling of the border row.
The Indian position on the Russia-Ukraine war and the unconditional treaty between China and Russia appear to have caused some ripples in India-US relations and led to a reappraisal of India's usefulness to the US in the eventuality of a conflict with China, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.
Lt Gen Y K Joshi, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army's Northern Command, in an exclusive interview to CNN-News18, has said no land has been ceded to China. "No, a very emphatic no actually," he said while speaking to CNN-News18's Defence Editor Shreya Dhoundial.
There was no official word on the outcome of the talks.
'The Modi government is trying to suppress the matter only to save its political image'
'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.'
The MQ-9B predator armed drones -- 10 each for three services -- is seen to be a key part of India's national security and defense needs.
The Chinese activity at an air base near the Barahoti area has also gone up and a large number of drones have been deployed by them there, they said.
Zhao said some US officials are trying to add fuel to the fire and pointing fingers.
The MEA said it was the Chinese side that recently undertakook activities hindering India's normal patrols in the areas.
India and China held a special round of military talks on Tuesday at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point in Eastern Ladakh to discuss air space violations and provocations by the Chinese side in that area in the last 45 days.
Citing media reports that China has built shelters in the Depsang area in Ladakh, the Congress on Saturday questioned the government's 'silence' over the issue and asked what steps were being taken by it to ensure status quo ante of April 2020.
India on Thursday dismissed China's objection to the joint Indo-US military exercise near the Line of Actual Control in Uttarakhand's Auli, saying it did not give a veto to third countries on these issues.
India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic height near Pangong lake's southern bank.
'The Galwan Valley clashes helped us prioritise our national security approach towards the northern border'
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.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Wednesday asserted that any possible terrorist activity flowing out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and finding its way into India will be firmly dealt with, and suggested that the Quad nations should boost cooperation in the global war on terrorism.
The ITBP guards the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control between India and China, along with the Indian Army.
The heightened state of alert was only relaxed after Wang met his Jaishankar in Moscow on Friday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, a second source said.
China is ready to take "conciliatory steps" in order to avoid new violations of the obligations on the India-Chinese border, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday, a day after holding a crucial meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over the current standoff in Ladakh. Speaking during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Wang said troops and equipment should be withdrawn from the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The BrahMos export order would be the biggest for the country in this field and is likely to propel India amongst arms exporting countries as more orders for the missile are expected from other friendly countries.
In a major boost to its fire power, the Indian Army has deployed a sizeable number of upgraded L70 anti-aircraft guns in the high mountains along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh in addition to its existing M-777 howitzers and Swedish Bofors guns, officials said on Wednesday.
India and China will complete the disengagement process in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh by September 12, the External Affairs Ministry said on Friday.
India and China on Friday are holding another round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the 22-month-long standoff in some friction points in eastern Ladakh, two months after the last round of such talks failed to yield any significant outcome.
The Chinese military on Friday confirmed that the troops of China and India have begun the process of disengagement from the Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area of eastern Ladakh in a 'coordinated and planned way'.
'There are certain critical deficiencies like shortage of fighter squadrons and force multipliers which must be addressed on priority to retain our combat edge'
The conclave will be held at the national capital from April 18-22 and will be chaired by Army Chief Gen MM Naravane.
The two sides have already held seven rounds of Corps Commanders level talks to discuss the entire issue of transgressions in the Eastern Ladakh sector.
'China and India have encountered some setbacks in recent years which do not serve the fundamental interests of the two countries and the two peoples'
The stringent and rare action against Commandant Rajesh Kumar Tomar was confirmed by the ITBP director general after a general force court trial was held against him under the ITBP Force Act of 1992.
Calling the 'events' along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) very disturbing, the external affairs minister said they have raised some very 'basic concerns'. When asked whether it will be a long-haul or a breakthrough is expected soon, Jaishankar said: "I would not go into prediction zone at all whether it is going to be easy or not, and what will be the timelines and so on."
The military standoff with China has been going on for over two years now when the Chinese side attempted to change the status quo unilaterally by moving troops in large numbers against Indian positions.
Even though troops of India and China have disengaged at three locations in Eastern Ladakh, the Indian side is clear that the tensions on the borders would be done away completely only when the People's Liberation Army de-inducts more than 10,000 troops along with artillery and tank regiments deployed on its side of the Line of Actual Control near the Indian territory.
In a major technology push, Indian Army has envisioned construction of "permanent defences" along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh using cutting-edge 3D printing technology, a move that will save time and improve its defence preparedness, sources said on Tuesday.
In the confrontation in Doklam, where Indian and Chinese soldiers were lined up eyeball-to-eyeball, senior Indian commanders recount they could sense the uncertainty in the Chinese. While Indian soldiers had to be restrained from pushing the Chinese troops back, our chief interpreter heard the Chinese officers threatening to open fire on PLA soldiers who wavered or withdrew, reveals Ajai Shukla.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which guards the Line of Actual Control with China, has posted its first officer to head the newly-created Guwahati-based eastern command that oversees deployment of border battalions in that region.
Amid heightened military activities by the Chinese military opposite eastern Ladakh on its side on the Line of Actual Control, top Indian Army leadership would be briefed about the force's operational preparedness at a high-level meeting to be held here next week.
The comments came in the backdrop of the continuing standoff between the militaries of India and China at the LAC.