Peace and tranquillity in the border areas clearly remains the basis for normal relations between India and China, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday amid the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh. Jaishankar said the last few years have been a period of "serious challenge", both for the relationship and for the prospects of the Asian continent. "The continuation of the current impasse will not benefit either India or China. New normals of posture will inevitably lead to new normals of responses," he said, referring to the border row. "It is the willingness to take a long-term view of their ties that the two countries must display today," Jaishankar said in an address at a conference on 'China's Foreign Policy and International Relations in the New Era'. He said India's search for a "more balanced" and "stable relationship" with China was severely impacted by the border row in eastern Ladakh. "Given the developments of 2020, they obviously focus on an effectiv
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India and China agreed on Friday to hold the next round of military-level talks at an early date to resolve the remaining issues in eastern Ladakh and create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in the bilateral ties, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It was the only decision taken at a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on the India-China Border Affairs as there was no breakthrough to resolve the issues at the key friction points of Demchok and Depsang. The MEA said the two sides agreed to continue discussions through diplomatic and military channels to resolve the remaining issues "at the earliest" so as to create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in the bilateral relations. "To achieve the objective of resolution of remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, they agreed to hold the next (17th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early ..
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday said the Indian Air Force has taken appropriate "non-escalatory" measures to deal with Chinese activities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, he also said that recent developments at the global stage show the need for a strong military to ward off any challenge. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said the IAF has been preparing for all kinds of security challenges including "worst-case scenario" and asserted that it is fully ready to face any situation. "We continue to be operationally deployed and ever vigilant," he said, adding the IAF continues to monitor all Chinese activities along the LAC. When asked about recent incidents of Chinese fighter jets flying close to the LAC, he said appropriate non-escalatory measures have been taken and a message was sent to the neighbouring country. Our overall preparation is a continuous process irrespective of Chine
Indian and Chinese armies carried out a joint verification of the disengagement process at Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in eastern Ladakh after withdrawing their troops and dismantling temporary infrastructure from the friction point, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday. Both sides completed the disengagement in a phased and coordinated manner, they said. The local commanders of the two armies also held a meeting following the conclusion of the disengagement process from the friction point where the two sides were in a standoff for over two years. Though the two sides disengaged from Patrolling Point 15 (PP-15), there has been no progress yet on resolving the standoff in Demchok and Depsang regions. The Indian and Chinese armies on September 8 announced that they have kicked off the disengagement process from the PP-15, in a significant forward movement in the stalled process to pull-out troops from the remaining friction points in the region.
Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Saturday carried out a comprehensive review of the overall security situation in eastern Ladakh, two days after Indian and Chinese militaries began disengaging from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in the region. The Army said Gen Pande witnessed Exercise Pravat Prahar besides interacting with officers and troops deployed in the region. The exercise featured a display of operational capabilities by artillery guns and other key weapon systems. "Gen Manoj Pande #COAS visited #LadakhSector and witnessed Exercise PARVAT PRAHAR. #COAS was briefed on operational preparedness by commanders on ground. He interacted with the officers & troops & complimented them for their steadfastness and professional standards," it tweeted. People familiar with Gen Pande's visit said he has been briefed about the fresh disengagement process besides the overall combat readiness of the Indian Army in the region. Commander of the Leh-based Fire and Fury ...
China on Friday refused to comment on a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan next week, but said the disengagement troops in the Gogra-Hotsprings area of eastern Ladakh will send a "positive signal" to improve the strained bilateral ties. "I have no information to offer at this moment," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a briefing here when asked whether India and China are in communication about a possible Modi-Xi meeting on the side-lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held in Samarkand on September 15 to 16. China and India are important members of SCO. Both support Uzbekistan as rotating chair for this year's summit. "We hope for the greater development of the organisation," she said. Speculation is rife about the meeting between Modi and Xi as India and China on Thursday announced the disengagement of their troops from the Patrolling
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. The ministry's comment came a day after the Indian and Chinese armies announced that they have begun to disengage from the Gogra-Hotsprings Patrolling Point 15, where the two sides have been locked in a standoff for over two years. The two sides have also agreed to take the talks forward and resolve remaining issues and restore peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in India-China border areas, the MEA said. "It has been agreed that all temporary structures and other allied infrastructure created in the area by both sides will be dismantled and mutually verified. The landforms in the area will be restored to the pre-standoff period by both sides," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in response to queries on the issue. Bagchi said the 16th round of talks between the Corps ...
The state of the border will determine the state of the India-China relationship, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, asserting that ties must be based on mutual sensitivity, mutual respect, and mutual interest. The external affairs minister's comments came amid the lingering military standoff between the two countries in a number of friction points in eastern Ladakh. In his address at the launch of the Asia Society Policy Institute, Jaishankar said much of the future of Asia depends on how relations between India and China develop in the foreseeable future and that the continent lacks an agreed architecture of any nature. "For ties to return to a positive trajectory and remain sustainable, they must be based on the three mutuals: mutual sensitivity, mutual respect and mutual interest," he said. "Their current status is, of course, well known to all of you. I can only reiterate that the state of the border will determine the state of the relationship," he ...
China's defence ministry on Thursday said it was firmly opposed to any third party "meddling" in the border issue and hoped India will abide by the bilateral agreements not to hold military drills near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the very pacts it has been accused of violating in eastern Ladakh leading to a prolonged standoff. Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defence (MND), made the comments while replying to question about reports of special forces of the US and India recently holding a joint combat exercise in the southern foothills of the Himalayas and their plans to conduct a joint military exercise code-named "War Exercise" (Yudh Abhyas) in October close to the border. "We firmly oppose any third party to meddle in the China-India border issue in any form," Tan told an online press conference here. Tan said that China has always stressed that military cooperation of relevant countries, especially on exercises and training activitie
While attending an Indian community event in Sao Paulo in Brazil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that China has disregarded the border pacts
The government constructed 2,088 kms of roads in areas bordering China in the last five years with an expenditure of Rs 15,477 crore, the government said on Monday. In total, the government spent Rs 20,767 crore in constructing 3,595 kms of border roads during the period that included those in areas along the frontiers with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, according to the details provided in Lok Sabha. Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said the government constructed 2,088.57 kms of road along the border with China by incurring an expenditure of Rs 15,477.06 crore. According to the details provided by him, Rs 4,242.38 crore was spent to construct 1,336.09 kms of road along the border with Pakistan, while an expenditure of Rs 882.52 crore was incurred to build 151.15 kms road along the frontier with Myanmar in the last five years. Bhatt said 19.25 kms of road was constructed along the border with Bangladesh at a cost of Rs 165.45 crore. There has been a renewed focus on ..
The new satellite images, sourced from Maxar, indicate that a second village in the Amo Chu river valley is now virtually complete, says a news report
India and China failed to make any breakthrough in resolving outstanding issues on the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh at the 16th round of military talks on Sunday
India and China are holding the 16th round of Corps Commander talks and the Chinese Air Force fighter jets provoked India on multiple occasions just before it
The 16th round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China will be held on Sunday at Chushul-Moldo on the Indian side in Ladakh, sources said
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Friday began his month-long visit to Ladakh and said India-China border disputes should be resolved through "talks and peaceful means"
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Friday said that India and China must solve the border dispute through talks and peaceful means
India on Thursday once again pressed China for "scrupulously" following the existing agreements on the management of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), 3 days ahead of the 16th round of military talks
India and China are likely to hold the 16th round of high-level military talks on July 17 to resolve the issues in remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh