Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

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.

Indian and Chinese troops exchanged sweets at the Hot Springs area in Eastern Ladakh on Thursday (October 31, 2024).
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“Troops of India and China exchanged sweets at several border points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the occasion of Diwali on Thursday (October 31, 2024),” Army sources said.

The traditional practice was observed a day after both countries completed the disengagement at two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh, bringing a fresh thaw in the Sino-Indian ties.

“The exchange of sweets between members of the troops of India and China took place at several border points along the LAC on the occasion of Diwali,” an Army source told PTI.

“The exchange took place at five Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) points along the LAC,” the sources added.

On Wednesday (October 30, 2024), an Army source said that troops of both sides had completed the disengagement at the two friction points and patrolling would commence soon at these points.

“The verification process after the disengagement was in progress and patrolling modalities were to be decided between ground commanders,” the source said then.

“Talks will continue at the local commander level,” the Army source added.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said on October 21 in Delhi that an agreement was finalised between India and China following negotiations over the past several weeks and that it would lead to a resolution of the issues that arose in 2020.

The agreement was firmed up on patrolling and disengagement of troops along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, a breakthrough to end the over four-year standoff.

State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel. Videograb: X/StateDeputySpox

The United States recognises Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and strongly opposes any unilateral attempts by China to advance its territorial claims across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a senior Biden administration official has said, days after the Chinese military reiterated its claim over the State following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit there.

Earlier this week, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang said that the southern part of Xizang (the Chinese name for Tibet) is an inherent part of China’s territory, and Beijing “never acknowledges and firmly opposes” the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India”.

China, which claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, routinely objects to Indian leaders’ visits to the State to highlight its claims. Beijing has also named the area Zangnan.

On March 9, Prime Minister Modi dedicated to the nation the Sela Tunnel built at an altitude of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh that will provide all-weather connectivity to strategically located Tawang and is expected to ensure better movement of troops along the frontier region.

Speaking at his daily press conference on March 20, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said, “The United States recognises Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions or encroachments, military or civilian, across the Line of Actual Control.” India has repeatedly rejected China’s territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the State is an integral part of the country. New Delhi has also dismissed Beijing’s move to assign “invented” names to the area, saying it did not alter the reality.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on March 19 said it has noted the latest comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry “advancing absurd claims” over the territory of Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the State “was, is and will always be” an integral and inalienable part of India.

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.)

File image for representation.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

With Chinese President Xi Jinping skipping a G-20 summit for the first time, Beijing is sending “deliberate signals” to India and the West by essentially downgrading its involvement in a key international forum, according to current and former officials and people familiar with Beijing’s thinking.

Missing the summit, they said, conveys China’s displeasure both with the current state of bilateral ties with India — and New Delhi’s stand that normalcy in broader ties is not possible without a restoration of peace on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — and with what Beijing sees as a “politicisation” of the G-20, which it believes should be limited to economic issues and not involve itself with issues such as the war in Ukraine.

‘Surprising,’ says Ashok Kantha

Beijing offered no reason on Monday for Mr. Xi’s decision to skip the summit. The decision was “surprising”, noted former Indian Ambassador to China Ashok Kantha, considering Mr. Xi attended all previous G-20 summits (he attended the 2021 Rome summit virtually) and as recently as August 24 travelled to South Africa for the BRICS summit.  Health reasons also do not appear to be a factor, with Mr. Xi in the past week meeting with the visiting President of Benin in Beijing and also addressing by video a key conference on trade in services.

“So one presumes it is a deliberate signal both in the bilateral context, where there is unhappiness about the present state of relations, and a second aspect is a lack of comfort for China with the G-20 as a platform,” Mr. Kantha said. “They are sending out signals that they see things [with India] as not good and that they are not going to go the extra mile to retrieve the situation.”

Following an informal conversation between Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi in South Africa, both sides put out differing readouts over what was said, and then subsequently exchanged sharp barbs over China’s issuing of a new “standard map” for 2023 on August 28. While the timing, five days after the meeting between the leaders, was likely coincidental given the release of the map during what appeared to be a long-planned “map awareness publicity week” campaign in China by the Ministry of Natural Resources, it was seen by New Delhi as further complicating already sensitive relations amid an unresolved border crisis.

Skipping the summit also reflects China’s unease with the G-20 as a platform, and a stark contrast to its investing in other fora such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

People familiar with Beijing’s thinking suggest Mr. Xi would have been “very likely present in Delhi” if India hosted the SCO summit in person given the importance accorded by Beijing to the China and Russia-backed grouping. India decided to host the summit virtually, although it had initially planned for a physical summit in New Delhi.

“In BRICS, Xi was more comfortable as China was more in a position to influence the agenda and outcomes,” Mr. Kantha added. “At the G-20, there is much greater pressure on China, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin being absent means China will come under pressure. The Chinese feel they are more in control at the BRICS and SCO.”

Second-ranked leader and Premier Li Qiang will attend the Delhi G-20 summit. This is a deviation from standard Chinese protocol, with a clear division of responsibility in the Chinese system when it comes to international meetings. The President as Head of State (HoS) usually attends the G-20 and APEC Summit. Mr. Xi is expected to travel to the U.S. in November for the latter. The Premier usually attends the East Asia Summit, which Mr. Li is participating in this week in Indonesia before travelling to New Delhi. Both attend the SCO where there are separate HoS and Head of Government meetings.

“That practice is maintained very clearly and they don’t ordinarily deviate from it,” Mr. Kantha noted. “So this is not a routine decision, and it is clearly well thought out.”