Important for India was Xi's meeting with representatives of PLA officers and soldiers stationed in Tibet. The video of the encounter was interesting to watch, especially the large number of lieutenant generals and major generals, observes Claude Arpi.
'All the government needs to do is to identify clear political and strategic objectives and to give the military planners a free hand,' asserts Ajai Shukla.
Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army tried to enter the Indian side in two areas--Finger Four and Finger Five-- twice.
Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Around 20 Chinese soldiers last week entered Indian territory near the Line of Actual Control and pitched their tents in Chepzi area in Ladakh, sources said on Sunday. Around 20-22 Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers had last week pitched around 8-10 tents in the west of Chepzi in Ladakh area, the sources said.
'The government must provide more funds to enable the armed forces to fight and win tomorrow's wars,' states Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'And this mirror imaging is the most dangerous thing because it leads to tremendous misunderstandings.'
Chinese military has identified a host of problems after conducting massive military exercises for the first time to sharpen the troops' fighting capability which if not rectified will hinder its ability to win wars.
With the Indian Army having blocked the PLA several kilometres inside India, hundreds of soldiers from both sides remain in a tense face-off.
'Clarifying that modernisation of national defence and armed forces should be completed by 2035, Xi Jinping asserted the goal is to make the People's Liberation Army a "world class force" that "can fight and win" by 2050,' points out former RAW officer Jayadeva Ranade.
At a time when Donald Trump is making belligerent noises, Chinese President Xi Jinping responds by overhauling the People's Liberation Army and restructuring the command of the PLA Navy to emphasise Beijing's resolve to dominate the South China Sea.
Calling for closer military ties between India and China, Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said that it would be easy to maintain peace along the borders if both the forces have trust, mutual respect and confidence.
'J P Dutta's clownish treatment of history and hard-earned triumph demeans the efforts and sacrifices of real-life martyrs and bravehearts with its pompous ideas of valour, clunky writing and a cadre of lacklustre actors,' says Sukanya Verma.
'We will not accept these misadventures by the Chinese.'
'Post the pandemic, when India is turning a new leaf in its economic policy with an eye on foreign capital and global supply chains that are likely to leave China, heightened tensions on the India-China border creates an atmosphere of uncertainty,' observes Virendra Kapoor.
Kicking off his four-day visit, General Suhag met General Li Zuocheng, the head of China's ground forces which have undergone major restructuring in the last three years.
'The notion of a single unarmed town challenging the might of the People's Republic is a little absurd,' says Mihir Sharma.
Pakistan's powerful Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif's visit to Beijing comes in the backdrop of assertions by Pakistan that it will raise its concerns at the international level over India's successful test of supersonic interceptor missile.
'Chinese troops are not geared to fight Indian troops who are battle hardened and acclimatised and are far more hardy.'
Expressing concern over revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden alleging that the NSA spied on Chinese leaders and businesses, China on Monday demanded that the US explain the facts and stop surveillance activities.
China's latest combat drone which made its maiden flight this week could become the biggest export item for the Communist giant as it is comparable to the US' Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, a top official has said.
'The fatal mistake for the USSR was the invasion of Afghanistan.' 'Quite possibly the fatal mistake for the Chinese empire is the assault on Ladakh,' observes Rajeev Srinivasan.
'An all-out war affects the whole nation.'
This was the first round of talks for Wang after he succeeded State Councillor Yang Jiechi earlier this year.
'Could the Chinese have taken a leaf out of our book?' 'That their unprecedented build-up is their attempt at coercive diplomacy with India?' 'And if so, what is it that they could be expecting as a quid pro quo?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
The strategic alliance between China and Pakistan is primarily driven by their rivalry with India, eminent US experts have said, with one of them expressing concern over Sino-India border tensions.
'Our boys are very patriotic.' 'They say Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Jai Hind in front of the Chinese.' 'We have never accepted their claims, we are Indians and proud to be Indians.'
'The Ladakh Scouts are a fantastic mountain troops suited to this terrain.' 'Other troops have to first get acclimatised, but these men are tough mountain people.'
'Listing Masood Azhar as a 'global terrorist' was done with Islamabad and Imran Khan's concurrence.' 'It was not prompted by the so-called 'Wuhan spirit'.' 'The relationship between the two 'iron brothers' has not been dented,' points out former RA&W officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
'Given the way in which the PLA operates today, I don't believe local commanders were necessarily acting without approval of higher levels.' 'They were acting in a way which they believed they were carrying out the intent of the higher levels.'
Was Wang Yi'S visit intended to remind India of 1962, asks Claude Arpi?
'No aeroplane in the world has been designed to switch off its engines above 14,500 feet.' 'Thanks to a lot of practice, we were able to execute a flawless landing at DBO at 0900 hours on 31st May, creating history.'
'They cannot use firearms.' 'They have to be restrained.' 'It is a game of patience and chess board moves.' 'It is not like India and Pakistan where bullets get fired and people get killed.'
At least 18 army personnel were killed and 11 injured on Thursday when an insurgent group ambushed their patrol in Chandel district of Manipur.
Today, the Ladakhis and Tibetans have been joined by the Sikhs, the Madrassis, the Garhwalis, the Rajputs, who are well trained psychologically and otherwise, to defend the nation, observes Claude Arpi.
'The arrests of Sanatan Sanstha members for committing murder and stockpiling explosives with the alleged intent of committing mass murder must be embarrassing to a majoritarian government,' notes Devangshu Datta.
Amid deepening row with the United States over disputed South China Sea where American ships challenged China's claims of sovereignty, Chinese military has deployed its latest anti-ship cruise missiles which experts say can form a powerful defence line at sea.
'Like Nehru, too, Modi has found dealing with Beijing more and more difficult and has adopted an increasingly assertive approach towards managing India's northern neighbour.'
China on Thursday released the first ever Chinese translations of the collective works of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
At the border personnel meeting, China also accused the Indian side of damaging its road building equipment when a road laying party left its gear in Tuting in December last year following a protest by India.
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