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 The Print December 07, 2020 Snehesh Alex Philip Government sources say India-China tensions could continue to simmer at the LAC even if a temporary disengagement takes place. As winter grips eastern Ladakh, the government has asked the Army, Navy and the Air Force to stay alert and firm, and ruled out any possibility of a premature withdrawal from the Kailash ranges on the southern bank of Pangong Tso where India has the upper hand over China. Top government sources told ThePrint that right at the beginning of the tensions in May, the armed forces were directed to be prepared for any eventuality. They also said the stand-off could last longer than anticipated and the situation was expected to simmer even if a temporary disengagement took place. The sources also said China has been taken aback by India’s determined response to its aggression, which was done to establish Beijing’s global standing as a superpower against the US, and also respond to India’s fast-paced border infrastru...

 India Today Dated 01.12.2020 By  Col Vinayak Bhat (Retd) China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) seems adamant to continue with the present standoff in eastern Ladakh beyond winters - or much longer - possibly to tire out India. Satellite images suggest Beijing has continued the same stance all along the Tibet-India border. In March-June 2017, the Chinese PLA had carried out massive incursions to grab Bhutan's territory in and around Doklam plateau and threatened India strategically. The latest satellite images released by space firm Maxar Technologies reveal the construction of road and civilian settlements, as claimed by China, inside Bhutan's territory. The Indian Army considering its own strategic interests due to the proximity of this area to Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, and a friendly neighbour's concerns had intervened to stop the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) advance in Sharsingma or Yatung valley.  However, the latest satel...

 Hindustan Times Dated 30.11.2020 As India and China prepare for the 9th round of military dialogue to restore status quo ante in East Ladakh sector, New Delhi is waiting for “certain clarifications” on the disengagement and de-escalation roadmap from Beijing, people familiar with the matter said. According to military and diplomatic officials based in Delhi and Beijing, the window of opportunity for disengagement and de-escalation from the friction points along the 597 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) would close in December when very heavy snows, polar temperatures and high-velocity winds sweeping the Tibetan plateau and Ladakh heights would make any significant movement of troops, artillery and armour will be near impossible. As of now both sides have deployed more than three divisions of troops on each side with missile, artillery and armor support. “There is a roadmap on the table but India has asked for specific clarifications from China on the stepwise disengagement by b...

 Indian Express Christopher Jaffrelot, Vijay Ganesh R S 23.11.2020 With India-China relations hitting its lowest point since the 1962 war, border infrastructure has come under intense scrutiny. The construction of several dams along the Yarlung (Brahmaputra) river on the Chinese side has been a repeated cause for concern for Indian officials and the local people, whose livelihoods and security depend on the river.      The Brahmaputra is a perennial river, with several peculiar characteristics due to its geography and prevailing climatic conditions. Inhabitants along the river have to deal with two floods annually, one caused by the melting of the Himalayan snow in summer and the other due to the monsoon flows. The frequency of these floods have increased and are devastating due to climate change and its impact on high and low flows. These pose a concern for the population and food security in the lower riparian states of India and Bangladesh. The river is in itself ...

 The Indian Express Sep 25, 2020 Anirudh Suri It is a strange phenomenon when two of Asia’s largest economies decide that in the midst of one of the worst pandemics the world has ever seen, they want to raise the stakes in a decades-long border dispute. What is really going on, one might ask. Is there a war brewing between India and China? The skirmishes on the Ladakh border might suggest that long-standing territorial issues are at the core of the conflict. But there is another possible explanation. A larger conflict is brewing, almost eerily along the lines of the conflict between China and the US. And the dominance of global technology platforms and networks is likely at the centre of it. Various policy measures announced by the government in recent months — all coinciding exactly with skirmishes on the Ladakh front — have specifically targeted Chinese-origin technology players. Suddenly, China seems to have lost its mantle as the master of the Indian technology sector’s destiny...

  The Indian Express Sep 25, 2020 Subhajit Roy D ays after India and China  agreed not to engage in escalatory behaviour along the Line of Actual Control , New Delhi said that the “way ahead” will be to refrain from making any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo while the two sides continue their discussions to achieve complete disengagement in all friction areas. Pointing out that the Senior Commanders “met after a period of nearly 50 days”, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the two sides have also decided to have the next meeting of Senior Commanders at the earliest. In parallel, the next meeting of the WMCC is also likely to take place soon, he said. The sixth meeting of the Senior Commanders of India and China took place on September 21 in Moldo. Underlining that this was the first joint press release after any Senior Commanders’ meeting, the MEA spokesperson said, “As such, it reflects the stated commitment of both sides to d...

 The Hindu SEp 22, 2020 PTI Indian government continue to face a difficult challenge of border security, says Barrack Obama-era diplomat Alyssa Ayres Pakistan has used terrorist groups to change the status quo in Jammu and Kashmir, which has undermined every peace effort and impacted human rights negatively, a Barrack Obama-era diplomat has told US lawmakers. In a statement to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Non proliferation, Alyssa Ayres, senior fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank, on Monday said the situation is complex and tragic in Kashmir The committee will schedule a hearing on “Stemming a Receding Tide: Human Rights and Democratic Values in Asia” on Tuesday. There is documented history of Pakistan-based terrorists active in Indian-administered Kashmir, and Kashmiris and the Indian government continue to face a difficult challenge of border security and terrorism in this regi...

The Print June 24, 2020 Posted by  SNEHESH ALEX PHILIP   Fresh satellite images have emerged Wednesday, raising concerns of increased Chinese troop build-up in the Galwan Valley, even as India and China deploy additional troops in the Depsang plains near the northern-most part of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).  The new images emerged on a day when China launched a twin verbal onslaught against India, with its foreign and defence ministries  blaming New Delhi  for the deadly Galwan Valley clash on 15 June, and for violating bilateral agreements, international rules and provoking the clash. The satellite images of Galwan Valley, dated 22 June and put out by Twitter handle @detresfa_, which has been releasing images since the tensions began building in early May, show a massive build-up of China’s People’s Liberation Army troops since the 15 June clash, in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives near patrol point 14 on the Indian side o...

The Hindustan Time June 24, 2020 Posted by VS Pandey There are no permanent friends or enemies in international relations, only self-interest determines the scope of relationships. History is witness to numerous instances when countries ignored this dictum and were shocked beyond belief to find their best friends betraying their trust to further their own self-interest. It is China today but there was another country yesterday. This is how it goes. It is not a surprise that they betrayed, the surprise is that they were trusted. So every country should keep their eyes and ears open, remain vigilant, watch closely actions of others, look at their-self interest, assess their own actions and policies as perceived by others and then determine the depth or otherwise of a relationship. The annexation of Tibet, asylum to Dalai Lama, establishment of Tibet’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, then the 1962 war and consequential loss of India’s territory are still f...

The Firstpost June 23, 2020 Over a week after the clashes at Ladakh's Galwan Valley between Indian and Chinese army personnel, the two countries have agreed to disengage forces along the disputed stretch of the Line of Actual Control. While efforts are still on to further defuse tensions, Russia appears to be playing a key role in brokering peace. Indian officials have been in touch with the Russian government both before the 15 June clashes and afterwards. On 5 June, when tensions along the LAC were increasingly becoming apparent, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had “updated” Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev on the recent developments on the issue. Two days after the clashes, Indian Ambassador to Russia D Bala Venkatesh Varma also spoke to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov.  The Indian Express  quoted a statement by the Russian foreign ministry as saying that the officials "discussed regional security, including developm...

The Indian Express June 24, 2020 Posted by Nalin Surie In one fell swoop, China, with Xi Jinping in the core leadership position of the CPC and with ultimate responsibility as the Chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, has effectively destroyed the edifice of bilateral relations so painstakingly built post the Chinese aggression of 1962. Hubris, internal insecurities in China, the COVID-19 pandemic and the complex and confused external environment have led to caution being thrown to the winds. Perhaps, the anticipated medium and long-term competition posed by India from the ideological, strategic and economic points of view began to loom larger and Beijing felt that this was a good opportunity to once again assert its self- proclaimed territorial claims in Ladakh. That may have been a grave error of judgement. Military adventures like the recent barbaric one unleashed by the Chinese in Galwan have a habit of ending up with nasty surprises. Paral...

Zee News Besides keeping the Indian security forces deployed at the border to safeguard the Indian territory from outside forces, India can adopt these three measures - surveillance, communication, and population to save its land from getting occupied. In the current scenario when China is trying to get inside the Ladakh territory claiming it to be its own land, both the countries are holding Corps Commander-level meetings at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to discuss the ongoing dispute. But India still needs to be prepared to deal with any kind of scenario as last week as many as 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the face-off in the Galwan Valley after an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. The good use of technology can give a strong hand to India in fighting the battle. Just like the Israeli army, India can set up night-vision cameras to monitor movement, us...

The Indian Express 14 June 2020 Written by: Yubaraj Ghimire The Bill will now go to the Rastriya Sabha. No date has been announced yet for its tabling in the Upper House which is dominated by the ruling Nepal Communist Party. Ignoring Indian objections to its territorial claims, Nepal’s House of Representatives, in a rare show of unanimity Saturday, passed a constitution amendment Bill to approve the country’s new map that includes Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura which figure in Indian maps. The Bill will now go to the Rastriya Sabha. No date has been announced yet for its tabling in the Upper House which is dominated by the ruling Nepal Communist Party. Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who had been very critical of India over the boundary issue, chose not to speak during the debate Saturday. Later, Oli told reporters outside the House: “The first course is now over. And now dialogue with India will be the next course. I am happy about this unprecedented unity.” ...