INDIAN DEFENCE UPDATE

Source - HT The Indian Air Force has the capacity and capability to bring the fight to Han China, way beyond occupied Tibet and Xinjiang. While the Indian Air Force (IAF) plan against the threat of Chinese Air Force remains classified, the basic strategy against People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was put to test very successfully during 2018 Gagan Shakti pan-India air exercises. The strategy is simple: Disperse, Absorb, Recoup and Retaliate. Air warriors like Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Birender Singh Dhanoa know that the Chinese will launch a barrage of early long range missile strikes against Indian air bases to incapacitate them. However, according to a March 2020 Belfer Center Study of Harvard Kennedy School, this is easier said than done. While recognising the rocket threat from China, the IAF strategy has been fine tuned to an art form and put to practice through more than 6,000 sorties alone on the eastern front during Exercise Gagan Shakti. “The moment the red flag is up,

Source -- HT The two sides maintained that “peace and tranquillity in the border areas” was essential for overall development of the bilateral relations. India and China on Friday once again reiterated that they will work to ensure “complete disengagement of the troops” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh region, where 15 Indian soldiers were killed on June 15 in a violent face off with the Chinese army. The comments were made at the 16th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs. The two sides maintained that “ peace and tranquility in the border areas” was essential for overall development of the bilateral relations. On Tuesday, the Chinese foreign ministry had told HT that its troops had begun to disengage from the Galwan Valley, a day after New Delhi and Beijing simultaneously announced their decision to deescalate the two-month long tense situation in the area. In all, the two sides have had three mee

Source-- TOI NEW DELHI: The 13-lakh strong Army has directed all its officers and soldiers to delete their Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as 89 apps from their mobile phones by July 15. Citing security considerations and leakage of sensitive data, the Army said those who do not follow the order will face strict action. The outlawed apps include the 59 ones with Chinese links, including TikTok, which were banned by the Union government recently. “The directive has been issued because there has been an exponential increase in the number of military personnel being targeted online by intelligence agencies of Pakistan and China,” said an officer. The Army in November last year had also directed its personnel to avoid the use of Whatsapp for official work, while asking officers holding “sensitive appointments” to delete their Facebook accounts. There have been many cases over the last two-three years where Pakistani agents posing as women have “virtually” honey-trapped Indian milit

Source -- India Today n excerpts from minutes of one of the meetings between the two sides, India Today can now confirm that China has been explicitly staking claim to territory up to 800 metres into the Indian side from Patrol Point 14. Indian and Chinese Army positions pulled back nominally this weekend from the Galwan Valley's blood-soaked Patrol Point 14 to create a 'no man's land' buffer zone, clarity has emerged of just how much of the narrow river valley China has officially claimed during the current standoff. In excerpts from minutes of one of the meetings between the two sides, India Today can now confirm that China has been explicitly staking claim to territory up to 800 metres into the Indian side from Patrol Point 14. Amidst larger claims over the 'entire' Galwan Valley by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the 800-metre claim was articulated first at a battalion-level meeting in April this year after India began construction of a bridge near the conflue

Source- Zee Media China-India relations have withstood the test of ups and downs, and it is not easy to achieve today's development.  New Delhi:  China on Monday (July 6) decided to disengage and ease the tensions in the Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. The Galwan Valley was the site of a violent faceoff between the two militaries on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Amid the disengagement process, China's Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on the LAC standoff:  "The two sides welcome the progress made in the recent military and diplomatic meeting between the two countries and agree to continue the dialogue and consultations, and emphasize that the consensus reached at the level of the two border defense forces at the military level should be implemented as quickly as possible to complete the disengagement process of the front-line forces of both sides as soon as possible. On the evening of July 5, 2020, Wang Yi, Chinese Specia

Source - TOI WASHINGTON: The United States is flexing its military muscle at China on behalf of India and other Asian allies and partners, amid signs that Washington is finally ready to take some punitive action against Beijing for its role in spreading the coronavirus  pandemic around the globe. In the clearest sign yet that the Trump White House will not back down from its position as a pre-eminent power in the Pacific and beyond, Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows told Fox News on Monday that the US military "will continue to stand strong whether it's in relationship to a conflict between India and China or anywhere else." Soon after Meadow’s remarks, President Trump cryptically tweeted "China has caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the World!" China has caused great damage to the United States and the rest of the World! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)  1594038506000 Meadow’s remarks came even as Beijing and New Delhi appeared to st

Source -- INDIA TODAY The precise opposite of disengagement between India and China is happening at the four friction points in eastern Ladakh. With the third round of Corp Commander level talks winding down in Chushul, India Today has learnt that far from de-escalation, a greater mobilisation and concentration of troops have been seen on both sides of the Line of Actual Control in the last 72 hours. And the mobilisation shows no signs of abating. India Today can confirm that the Indian Army has scaled up its deployments, but will not report on the specifics of this mobilisation owing to the dynamic nature of the situation at all four friction points. The Chinese side has clearly scaled up deployments in depth areas of the Finger complex of Pangong Tso as well as Hot Springs area. As reported yesterday, the talks in Chushul today led with and focused in large measure on the situation at Pangong Tso's Finger 4. India Today was the first to details just how serious the situation is o