India-China Standoff LIVE Updates: At Parl Meet, Sharad Pawar Asks Govt to Present Details on Border Situation before Committee

Pawar Seeks Presentation on India-China Situation | Sharad Pawar has sought a presentation on the India-China situation in the Committee from the Central government. The Defence Ministry said that his request has been noted.

CDS Rawat Appears Before Standing Committee on Defence | Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat is appearing before the Standing Committee on Defence in the Parliament Annexe. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is also attending the meeting as a member of the committee.

The situation at the LAC is on a knife-edge. While the leaderships of both countries may not want a war, evidently neither side seems to be able to take the first step towards de-escalation.

RECAP | Reacting to US-India statement, China said that terrorism is a common challenge faced by all countries and added that Pakistan has made sacrifices in fighting it. “China opposes all forms of terrorism. Today marks the 19th anniversary of 9/11… China opposes all kinds of terrorism and UN should play a leading role and oppose double standards on counter-terrorism,” the statement said. In a joint statement on Thursday, the US-India counter-terrorism joint working group and designations dialogue, both sides denounced the use of terrorist proxies and strongly condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms.

Corps Commander Level Talks Between India & China Next Week | Brigade Commander-level meeting is presently underway while the Corps Commander Meeting will be held next week, sources told News18. This will be the sixth meeting between Lt Gen Harinder Singh and Major Gen Liu Lin. In the last 24 hours, no fresh aggressive by China’s People’s Liberation Army along the LAC.

Highlights from Foreign Ministers’ Meet | At the talks, Jaishankar and Wang agreed that as the situation eases on the border, the two sides should expedite work to conclude new confidence building measures to maintain and enhance peace and tranquility in the border areas. The joint statement said the two sides also agreed to continue to have dialogue and communication through the Special Representative(SR) mechanism on the India-China boundary question.

RECAP | Noting that the current situation at their border is not in the interest of either side, India and China have agreed on a five-point roadmap including quick disengagement of troops and avoiding any action that could escalate tensions for resolving the four-month-long face-off in eastern Ladakh. As the two countries reached the agreement during the talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday evening, government sources said the Indian side strongly raised the deployment of large number of troops and military equipment by China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and conveyed its concern. The Chinese side could not provide a credible explanation for the troops buildup, the sources said on Friday.

China, Others to Join Military Exercises in Russia | Meanwhile, Chinese and Russian forces will take part in joint military exercises in southern Russia later this month along with troops from Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan and others, Chinas defense ministry announced Thursday. The Caucuses 2020 drills will deploy wheeled vehicles and light weaponry to be flown to the drill location by Chinas latest transport aircraft, the ministry said in a statement. The exercises running September 21-26 will focus on defensive tactics, encirclement and battlefield control and command, the ministry said.

Strategy on How to Consolidate Positions Gained at Border Discussed at Key Meet | Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today met top security brass in Delhi and assessed the prevailing situation at the border after two top-level meetings with Chinese counterparts. Sources told News18 that a strategy on how to consolidate the positions gained at border was discussed. Besides this, the issue of induction of Rafale jets and its deployment was also taken up.

Former ISRO Chief Pitches for Ramping Up India's Space Assets amid Border Tension |Amid tension on the border with China, veteran space scientist G Madhavan Nair on Friday said India should ramp up its space assets and enhance coverage of the region to keep pace with the changing times. In an interview to PTI, he said in almost all areas of security-related activities, the space — earth observation, communication and electronic intelligence, among other things– plays a very major role.

The 4,000 km Line of Actual Control that marks the border between India and China was, till April, considered one of the most peaceful disputed borders in the world.

China Reacts to India-US Joint Statement | Meanwhile, reacting to US-India statement, China said that terrorism is a common challenge faced by all countries and added that Pakistan has made sacrifices in fighting it. “China opposes all forms of terrorism. Today marks the 19th anniversary of 9/11… China opposes all kinds of terrorism and UN should play a leading role and oppose double standards on counter-terrorism,” the statement said. In a joint statement on Thursday, the US-India counter-terrorism joint working group and designations dialogue, both sides denounced the use of terrorist proxies and strongly condemned cross-border terrorism in all its forms.

Earlier on Tuesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh used the induction ceremony of Rafale Jets to send a strong message to China over its belligerence in eastern Ladakh, saying national security is a major priority for India and it is determined to protect its territory. Singh said induction of Rafale jets into the IAF is crucial considering the kind of atmosphere being created along India's border.

'China-India Ministers Meet Marks Substantial Step in Cooling Border Issue': Global Times | The joint statement and five-point consensus reached by both Chinese and Indian foreign ministers in Moscow marked a substantial step in cooling down the current border situation, exceeding the expectations of most international observers, Chinese mouthpiece Global Times reported.The report said the meeting creating favourable conditions for a possible future meeting between the leaders of the two countries, Chinese experts told the Global Times on Friday.
 

The situation at the LAC is on a knife-edge. While the leaderships of both countries may not want a war, evidently neither side seems to be able to take the first step towards de-escalation.

Galwan Valley Clash Recap | The savage combat in June, with few parallels in the history of modern armies, claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers, including 16 Bihar’s commanding officer, Colonel Santosh Babu, many because of protracted exposure to sub-zero temperatures. The killings marked the Indian Army’s worst losses since the 1999 Kargil war, and the most intense fighting between India and China since 1967, when 88 Indian soldiers and as many as 340 PLA troops were killed in the course of intense skirmishes near the Nathu La and Cho La passes, the gateways to the strategically-vital Chumbi valley.

What Happened at Moscow Meet? | India strongly raised the deployment of large number of troops and military equipment by China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and conveyed its concern during the talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow, government sources said on Friday. The Indian delegation raised the issue of the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) massing troops in eastern Ladakh as the two foreign ministers reached a five-point agreement that will guide the two countries in resolving the border standoff in eastern Ladakh. The meeting in Moscow on Thursday evening lasted two-and-a-half hours.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is conducting a security review meeting with NSA Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the three services chiefs to discuss the ongoing situation on the China border, Defence Ministry officials said today. On Thursday, in a meeting that lasted two and a half hours in Moscow, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the recent incidents in eastern Ladakh have inevitably impacted the development of bilateral relations, and therefore, an urgent resolution of the current situation was in the interest of both nations, sources told CNN-News18.

In a time of the USA's dwindling influence on world economy and the coronavirus pandemic that has affected everyone, the least that both countries want is a war or even a skirmish.

Defence Minister Holds Meeting with CDS, NSA & 3 Service Chiefs | Meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the three Service Chiefs underway to discuss the prevailing situation along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. 

'Move Back Personnel, Equipment That Have Trespassed at Border,' China Tells India at SCO Meet | Wang told Jaishankar during the meeting the "imperative is to immediately stop provocations such as firing and other dangerous actions that violate the commitments made by the two sides," China's foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday. Wang also told Jaishankar all personnel and equipment that have trespassed at the border must be moved and that frontier troops on both sides "must quickly disengage" in order to de-escalate the situation.

How Strained are India-China Relations | India and China’s relations continue to deteriorate after clashes at the LAC in eastern Ladakh. However, India’s top security establishments do not believe that the relations have strained to an extent that it could escalate into a war. According to reports, the Chinese deployment is non-tactical.

Maintenance of Peace on Border Areas Essential to Forward Development of Ties, India Tells China at Moscow Meet | Sources pointed out that while India recognized that a solution to the boundary question required time and effort, it was also clear that the maintenance of peace and tranquility on the border areas was essential to the forward development of ties. Also significantly, India issued a joint press release, unlike China. It said that the current situation is not in the interest of either side, and the border troops should continue dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease tensions.

Meanwhile, after allegations of firing on the South bank of Pangong Tso, the North bank of the lake has been seeing hectic activity since Tuesday night. Officials told News18 that since Tuesday night, a PLA build-up has been noticed in the general area of Finger 3 on the North bank of Pangong Tso. "From the heights that Indian forces have occupied, PLA build-up on the heights near finger 3 was observed. Soon, our side also spruced up the numbers,” an official said. News18, reporting from Leh, observed multiple air sorties by Sukhois, MIGs and Transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

A Brigade level flag meeting is believed to have occurred since the latest clash albeit inconclusively reflecting the level of uncertainty, volatility and intractability that has gripped the two sides…

'How China's Misadventure Against India Hurt its Reputation and Future' | The border skirmishes, resulting out of Chinese aggression, if not addressed quickly can drag India-China relationship back by 58 years. It can also negate all the gains made in strengthening bilateral ties since 1976, when New Delhi and Beijing decided to restore ambassadorial relations. The ghost of the 1962 war is an embarrassing historical baggage the new generation wants to break-free from. Yet, despite differences, India and China cooperated on issues such as climate change and at multilateral forums such as the BRICS and SCO. It was felt that the growing business and economic relationship between New Delhi and Beijing would eventually overcome the strains and help settle the border dispute, writes Rajiv Kumar. Read full story here.

Russia Hopes India and China Will Be Able to Resolve Ladakh Border Row Through Talks  | Russia on Tuesday exuded confidence that India and China will be able to resolve the border standoff through dialogue, and ruled out any possibility of its mediation between the two countries unless asked by both of them. Deputy Chief of the Russian embassy Roman Babushkin said his government would like to see "de-escalation and disengagement" through talks in eastern Ladakh.

‘India Never Tried to Change Status Quo Ante’: Jaishankar  | External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on Thursday amid a massive spike in border tensions in eastern Ladakh, triggered by fresh face-offs between the two armies. In meeting which lasted more than two hours, sources said Jaishankar stressed on the need to maintain peace and tranquillity in the region, and reiterated that Indian forces never tried to change the status quo ante along the Line of Actual Control.

India-China Face-off Can Take Any Trajectory, But Hasn't Reached the Threshold of War: Top Govt Sources | Will there be a full-blown war between India and China anytime soon? The assessment at the highest levels of India's security establishment is clear. The threshold of war hasn’t been reached yet. “It is difficult to predict the trajectory of the face-off, but we haven't reached the threshold of war. Things do build up to a full-blown conflict, but so far there have been only pinpricks. The Chinese deployment right now is non-tactical,” a top government source told News18. So how will things play out in the next few weeks and months? The reading within the government is that there will be minor escalations like the one on August 29-30 when the Chinese army tried to occupy Indian heights at the South bank of Pangong Lake. READ FULL STORY HERE.

North Bank of Pangong Tso 'Peaceful' After Days of India-China Tension, But No Signs of Backing off | After two tensed nights between India and China, north bank of Pangong Tso was relatively "peaceful and incident-free", officials told News18. However, they added that troops on both sides continue to hold on to their respective heights between Finger 3 and Finger 4. "There has been no incident since last night in any sector along the LAC," a security official said, adding that however no significant reduction in number of soldiers could be seen on China's side. About 1,500-2,000 Chinese troops are occupying the ridge at finger 3. India has also deployed equal numbers. READ FULL STORY HERE.