News Analysis India

Tag: Ladakh stand off

  • Will continue discussions with China to resolve remaining issues: Centre on Ladakh standoff

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday said it will continue discussions with China to resolve the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and achieve the objective of disengagement from all friction points to restore peace and tranquillity in the border areas at an early date.

    In responding to a question in Lok Sabha on whether China has admitted loss of lives of their commandos in the Galwan encounter, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the Central Military Commission of China on February 19 announced awarding posthumously honorary titles and merit citations to Chinese soldiers.

    “As per the announcement, these titles were awarded for the role of these soldiers in the faceoff at Galwan Valley in June 2020,” he said.

    Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the fierce hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley clash, an incident that marked the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in decades.

    For the first time, China officially acknowledged last month that five Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in the clash with the Indian Army.

    “Government will continue discussions with the Chinese side to resolve the remaining issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and achieve the objective of disengagement from all friction points and restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas at an early date,” Muraleedharan said.

    The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies erupted on May 5 following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

    As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed withdrawal of troops and weapons from the north and south banks of Pangong lake in line with an agreement on disengagement.

    In his response, Muraleedharan also referred to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s announcement in Parliament on February 11 that India and China reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake.

    “The disengagement in the Pangong Lake area has been completed,” he said.

    After completion of the disengagement process in Pangong lake areas, senior military commanders of India and China held another round of talks on February 20 with a focus on taking forward the disengagement process in other friction points.

    In the talks, India pitched for a faster disengagement process in areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang to bring down tension in the region.

  • India-China border standoff: Corps commanders to meet for ninth round of talks on January 24

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The corps commanders of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA are slated to meet on Sunday for the ninth round of talks to find ways to resolve the protracted tension along the line of actual control in eastern Ladakh. Confirming the development, a senior Army officer said, “The talks will be held in Moldo opposite the Chushul sector in India.”

    The last corps commander-level talks between the two countries were held on November 6 in Chushul. The Indian side will be led for the first time by 14 Corps commander Lt Gen P G K Menon.  While the meeting will mean a breaking of ice after a freeze of nearly three months, defence analysts and former officers do not expect much because of the environment of mistrust between the armies of the two countries. Lt Gen Rajan Bakshi (retd), who commanded 14 Corps, said a breakthrough can only be achieved at the diplomatic level and military talks are unlikely to yield any result. 

    Recalling a three-week faceoff in south Depsang in 2013, Lt Gen Bakshi said he led the talks from the Indian side at that time but it was the joint study group that ultimately resolved the standoff.  Maj Gen S B Asthana (Retd) said the talks were necessary to move towards a resolution but “we must not hope too much” because the trust deficit was high. 

    He said the northern neighbour was celebrating the Communist Party of China’s centenary and in this situation “if the PLA moves its troops back it will be a loss of face in front of the domestic audience.”  Maj Gen Asthana said even if the Chinese troops withdraw from the eyeball-to-eyeball situation, they can be back at will because of the kind of infrastructure they have created in those areas. “Unless we resolve the LAC issues we must not vacate the Kailash Range which China insists on,” he said. With the Indian soldiers occupying heights at the Kailash Range overlooking the Moldo garrison of the PLA, China wants this advantage of India to go away.

  • Don’t test Indian Army’s patience: Gen MM Naravane sends clear message to China, Pakistan

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a strongly worded message to China and Pakistan, Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said that no one should try to test the military’s patience with regard to defending the country’s borders.

    “We are committed to finding the resolution of our disputes through discussions and political efforts but no one should commit the mistake of testing our patience,” he said in an address at the Army Day parade in Delhi’s Cariappa Parade ground.

    While there is palpable tension with China along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh, with armies of the two countries deployed in standoff position, Pakistan is resorting to unprovoked ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and is resorting to a proxy war in Kashmir.

    Naravane assured the countrymen that the sacrifice of soldiers in Galwan Valley will not go in vain. 

    In May last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army unilaterally tried to change the status quo at multiple locations along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.

    On June 15, 2020, violent clashes took place which led to casualties on both sides.

    While 20 Indian soldiers were martyred, China did not make its count public despite admitting to casualties. 

    Naravane also said that the army had eliminated over 200 terrorists in Kashmir in the last year alone. 

    “Around 300-400 terrorists are waiting in training camps near the border to infiltrate into the Indian territory. Number of ceasefire violations went up by 44 per cent last year, which shows the nefarious intentions of Pakistan,” he said.

    Talking about the insurgency in the Northeast, the Army Chief said there has been some improvement on that front.

    “Over 600 terrorists have surrendered and seized a large of cache of arms and ammunition. With the help of the Myanmar Army, we conducted operations and got huge success,” Naravane said.

    Naravane also talked about the challenges surrounding the modernisation process and said there have been Capital procurements and steps have also been taken to develop future military technologies.

    “We have procured arms and ammunition worth Rs 5,000 crore under emergency and fast track schemes and under capital procurement, we have signed contracts of Rs 13,000 crore this year,” he added.

    Works on new-age technologies like Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, unmanned systems, directed energy weapons, and swarm drones are continuing in collaboration with the institutions like Indian Institute of Technology (IITs)

    Indian Army has identified 29 projects worth Rs 32,000 crore for its modernisation initiative as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.