New Delhi:

About 60 per cent of terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir last year were of Pakistani origin, Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi said today as he briefed media on the situation at the Line of Control (LoC). He also said about 80 per cent of terrorists who remain in J&K are Pakistanis.

“The situation (in Jammu and Kashmir) is firmly under control. On the Line of Control, the ceasefire which has been effective since February 2021 is holding on. However, terror infrastructure across remains intact,” Gen Dwivedi, who has vast operational experience along the frontiers with Pakistan and China, told reporters.

Gen Dwivedi said the infiltration attempts are also continuing, including from the International Border (IB) sector, along with drone attempts to smuggle warlike stores and narcotics.

He also said terrorist activities have increased in North Kashmir and the Doda-Kishtwar belt in recent months, but assured the overall violence parameters are “under control”.

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“We witnessed more than five lakh pilgrims during Amarnath Yatra this time and the peaceful conduct of elections (Lok Sabha and Assembly) are indicators of a positive change. The theme of terrorism to tourism is gradually taking shape,” Gen Dwivedi, who assumed charge as the 30th Chief of the Army Staff in June last year, said.

Army Chief On LAC Situation

The overall situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is “stable” but “sensitive”, Gen Dwivedi said, weeks after Indian and Chinese militaries disengaged from the last two friction points in eastern Ladakh.

“Patrolling and grazing in traditional areas has started in Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh,” he said.

He also said the Army is focusing on boosting border infrastructure and capability development.

“Our deployment is balanced and robust; we are capable of handling any situation,” he said.

India and China are restoring bilateral ties frozen for over four years due to the military standoff in Ladakh’s Galwan.

Rio de Janeiro:

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Tuesday (local time) stated that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi reviewed the progress in recent disengagement efforts along the India-China border during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil.

Mr Misri noted that this meeting was mandated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS Summit held last month.

At the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, India and China held their first bilateral talks in five years, marking a significant step towards mending strained relations between the two neighbours. These ties have been marred by a prolonged military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

The disengagement is seen as a concrete step towards restoring the pre-2020 status quo. The Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, which resulted in casualties on both sides, was the most severe conflict between the two nations in decades. Additionally, agreements have been reached in other sectors along the LAC.

During a press briefing, Vikram Misri said, “The meeting took place yesterday, and the two foreign ministers, as mandated by the two leaders during the meeting between the Prime Minister and President Xi Jinping in Kazan at the BRICS Summit last month, exchanged views. They reviewed progress in the recent disengagement in the India-China border areas and discussed the next steps in the bilateral relationship. The two sides are also discussing the possible scheduling of an early meeting between their special representatives.”

Earlier, EAM Jaishankar informed that India and China concluded the final phase of disengagement on October 21.

Additionally, Mr Misri highlighted key developments from the India-Australia annual meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

He emphasised the launch of the Renewable Energy Partnership, aimed at boosting two-way investment in the renewable energy sector.

“The Prime Minister met with Prime Minister Albanese of Australia for the 2nd India-Australia Annual Summit. This was the 11th meeting between the two leaders. The highlight of the meeting was the launch of the Renewable Energy Partnership between the two countries,” Mr Misri said.

The Renewable Energy Partnership aims to provide a framework for practical cooperation in priority areas such as solar PV, green hydrogen, and energy storage.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, “I am delighted to welcome the launch of the India-Australia Renewable Energy Partnership. This is a significant milestone in our cooperation. Our new partnership will boost two-way investment in renewable energy.”

Mr Misri also noted that discussions touched upon the upcoming QUAD Summit, scheduled to be held in India in 2025.

“Naturally, there was a significant focus on cooperation under the QUAD format, as well as exploring the possibility of encouraging investments between the two countries in both directions,” Mr Misri said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

 Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing that China and India have been in close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues related to the China-India border. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

China on Tuesday (October 22, 2024) confirmed that it has reached an agreement with India to end the standoff between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.

“Over a recent period, China and India have been in close communication through diplomatic and military channels on issues related to the China-India border,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing in Beijing.

“Now the two sides have reached a resolution on the relevant matters which China speaks highly of,” he said.

“Going forward China will work with India to implement these resolutions,” he said.

He, however, declined to provide details.

On the bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the margins of the BRICS summit at Russia’s Kazan, he said, “We will keep you updated if anything comes up.”

India on Monday (October 21, 2024) announced it has reached an agreement with China on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, in a major breakthrough in ending the over four-year-long military standoff between the two armies.

The ties between the two Asian giants nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.

Rajya Sabha member from Sikkim Dorjee Tshering Lepcha has urged the central government to change the official nomenclature of how to refer to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha during the discussion on the Union Budget 2024 on Tuesday, he said the border should be referred as the “Tibet border”. 

He said the 1,400-kilometer stretch from Leh, Ladakh, and Arunachal Pradesh to Sikkim borders Tibet more than China.

“This is not the China border. This is the Tibet border,” he told the Rajya Sabha.

He also said the central government should a directive to its agencies to officially call it the Tibet border.

Pointing out that near the border regions, China has built villages, while India has used them for reserved forests and wildlife sanctuaries, and has restricted access, Mr Lepcha asked the Centre to review the policy.

He also urged the Centre to consider reopening the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra route via Nathula.

Pune:

 Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Monday called unsettled borders with China and the rise of China as “the most formidable challenge” that India and Indian armed forces will face in the “foreseeable future.”

In his address at the “3rd Strategic and Security Dialogue on Rise of China and its Implications for the World” event in Pune, General Anil Chauhan said, “The challenge we face today is unsettled borders. The ancient frontiers of India started taking shape of firm borders under the British, but they could not get the legitimacy of international borders on independence thus we inherited disputed borders. The occupation of Tibet by China, made them a new neighbour, and a partition of India created a new nation that thrived on hostility and hatred towards us.”

The event has been organised by the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. General Chauhan called unsettled borders a challenge that India faces today.

General Chauhan said, “Today India has disputed borders with both our neighbours. Disputes followed by conflicts have led to the emergence of terms like line of actual control, line of control and actual ground position line. The unsettled borders with China and the rise of China will remain the most formidable challenge that India and Indian armed forces will face in the foreseeable future.”

He stated that armed forces need to maintain the legitimacy of India’s claims during peacetime on the disputed borders and stressed that it requires astute handling of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at all friction points. General Chauhan said that both sides need to operate within the ambit rules of engagements.

“The armed forces need to maintain the legitimacy of our claims during the peacetime on this disputed borders. This will require very astute handling of the PLA at all the friction points, calibrated firmness, and both sides to operate within the ambit of agreed rules of engagements. Like all disputed borders, there will be a tendency by the adversary to create new facts, or markers, toponomy or cartographic aggression, or to create a new narrative. This again will have to be countered collectively by all of us at all levels, that would include academicians, strategists, thinkers, students, everyone has to do it together, General Anil Chauhan said.

CDS General Anil Chauhan said that relations between the two nations cannot be viewed from a binary kind of perspective. Stressing that the rise of China affects other nations as well, he called for looking at like-minded nations for equitable balance.

Referring to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s recent comment about ties between India and China made during a TV show, General Chauhan said, “Day before yesterday, EAM said, ‘there is more to the Sino-India relation than the border disputes.’ Similarly, in an increasingly interconnected world, Sino-India relations cannot be viewed from a binary kind of perspective. The rise of China affects other nations as well and we must look at like-minded nations for equitable balance while remaining cognizant of the fact as a popular idiom says that one must be prepared to fight its own battle.”

Regarding technological advancements, General Chauhan cautioned against allowing a significant technological gap to emerge between India and its immediate adversaries, emphasizing its potential adverse consequences.

“Technology denial regimes existed in the past, but what we are witnessing now is a race to retain technological edge. India cannot afford the emergence of a major technological gap between us and our immediate adversaries, and that would be fatal for us,” General Chauhan said.

Earlier on March 12, India sent out a strong rebuttal to China for the latter’s comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh stating that the northeastern State will always be “an integral and inalienable part of India”.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) asserted that China’s objection to visits by Indian leaders or India’s developmental projects “does not stand to reason”.

“We reject the comments made by the Chinese side regarding the visit of the Prime Minister to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other States of India. Objecting to such visits or India’s developmental projects does not stand to reason,” MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

“Further, it will not change the reality that the State of Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. The Chinese side has been made aware of this consistent position on several occasions,” he added.

Jaiswal’s statement came after Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin during a press briefing, said that China “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the “East Section of the China-India boundary” and has raised concerns with India. PM Modi had virtually inaugurated the strategic Sela Tunnel during an event held in Arunachal Pradesh’s capital, Itanagar, on March 9.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

India has been carrying out a lot of construction activities at the China border in the last three years, BRO Director General Lt General Rajeev Chaudhry said on Sunday.

The DG was here to inspect the ongoing construction work of an air dispatch unit of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), touted to be the world’s largest 3D concrete printed campus.

Chaudhry said the government of India is fully supporting the BRO for carrying out infrastructure development projects by way of increasing the budget and new technology.

The government of India has “increased our budget by 100 per cent in the last two years”, he added.

When asked if China is carrying out big infrastructure development near the border areas of India, the DG said that a lot of construction activities have been being carried out by the BRO and other agencies at the China border in the last three years.

The DG said that around 300 BRO projects worth Rs 8,000 crore were completed during the last few years.

“In the last three years, we set up 295 road projects, bridges, tunnels and airfields which were dedicated to the nation,” Chaudhry said.

“In four months, our 60 more projects will be ready and the pace of our work has increased,” he added.

The DG said that the BRO was using steel slag — a by-product of steel — and plastic in the construction of roads.

“Today, the BRO’s pace of work is quite fast and the government has complete support in it, be it the budget, machines, new technology and simplification of procedures. You can be rest assured that we will leave China behind in the next four to five years,” he added.

The DG said that the previous government was wary of constructing roads near the Line of Actual Control.

The then Defence Minister A K Antony had in 2008 made a statement in Parliament that China could use the same roads against India, said Chaudhry.

“But today, the government is thinking in a different way. Our projects are being promoted,” he added.

Chaudhry said that only two tunnels were constructed in 60 years but in the last three years, four tunnels have been built.

“We are presently working on 10 tunnels, which will be ready by next year and eight more tunnels are planned,” he added underlining that tunnels are the most important component of providing fastest and all-weather connectivity.

He said that the BRO was using new techniques and machines for snow clearance in order to reduce the closure time of roads located at high altitude areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Tawang and other areas.

Citing an example of Zoji La pass, Chaudhry said that it used to remain shut for six months starting from October because of snow.

The closure time has been shrunk in the past three years, he added.

The DG said that road infrastructure development was not only for the security forces.

This also immensely helps for socio-economic upgradation of people who live in remote villages and distant areas and difficult terrains, he said, adding that a road is the backbone of development.

On the BRO’s projects, the DG said that it constructed the world’s highest motorable road at 19,000 feet at Demchok.

Nearly 40 days ago, we started a tunnel at Hanle at 15,000 feet, Chaudhry said.

All roads are higher in height than the base camps of the Mount Everest, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)