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India China News Live: Chinese military further withdraws troops from Pangong Tso
12 Jul, 2020 | 12:16:09 AM IST
Chinese military further thinned down its presence in the ridgeline of Finger Four and removed some boats from Pangong lake.
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India-China tussle: Latest updates
- China envoy: Indian, Chinese troops disengaging after clash
- ITBP expected to get additional responsibilities on LAC
- Trump may not back India against China: Former US NSA John Bolton
- Chinese military further withdraws troops from Pangong Tso area
- China behaving in a "belligerent" fashion all around its periphery, says former US NSA John Bolton
- US warns of 'arbitrary detention' risk in China
It is a work in progress, EAM Jaishankar on disengagement and de-escalation on Sino-Indian border
- As India and China attempt to lower weeks of border tension in eastern Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said a disengagement and de-escalation process has been agreed upon between the two countries and it is "very much a work in progress".
- "What just happened is that we have agreed on the need to disengage because the troops on both sides are deployed very close to each other. So there is a disengagement and de-escalation process which has been agreed upon," he said during an video interactive session at the India Global Week.
- "It has just commenced. It is very much a work in progress. At this point, I really would not like to say more," he said.
- Jaishankar's comments came a day after India and China held another round of diplomatic talks during which both sides resolved to push ahead with "complete disengagement" of troops in eastern Ladakh in a timely manner for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility.
- At the meeting, it was decided that senior commanders of the two armies will meet "soon" to discuss further steps to "ensure complete disengagement and de-escalation".
- People familiar with the development said the fourth round of Lt General-level talks will be held early next week with an aim to finalise modalities for withdrawal of troops from rear bases of the two militaries besides exploring ways to restore peace and tranquility in the region.
- The formal process of disengagement of troops began on Monday morning after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday.
- Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on June 17 during which both sides agreed that the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner.
EAM, S Jaishankar on India-China border issue
We have agreed on the need to disengage because troops are deployed very close to each other. Disengagement & de-es… https://t.co/eiSJ4nA5oG
— ANI (@ANI) 1594475644000US warns of 'arbitrary detention' risk in China
- The United States on Saturday warned citizens of "heightened risk of arbitrary detention" in China as tensions between Beijing and Washington soared over issues including Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
- US citizens in China "may be subjected to prolonged interrogations and extended detention for reasons related to 'state security'", the State Department warned in a security alert.
- The State Department said Chinese authorities may also impose exit bans as part of "arbitrary enforcement of local laws for purposes other than maintaining law and order".
- Beijing and Washington have traded barbs and sanctions on a slew of issues in recent months, including the coronavirus pandemic and Chinese policies in the far west regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, with Chinese authorities threatening retaliation this week for US sanctions on Chinese officials.
- A controversial security law pushed on Hong Kong by China's central government in June has also caused international concern over the wording of the legislation, which bans subversive acts and speech against the Chinese government made anywhere in the world.
- Australia and Canada have also issued travel warnings over fears of arbitrary detention by Beijing.
Chinese military further withdraws troops from Pangong Tso area: Sources
- Chinese military further thinned down its presence in the ridgeline of Finger Four and removed some boats from Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh ahead of another round of Lt General-level talks between India and China aimed at finalising modalities for complete disengagement along the Line of Actual Control(LAC), people familiar with the development said on Saturday.
- The escalation in tension in eastern Ladakh was triggered by a violent clash between the two armies in Pangong Tso on May 5 in which a sizeable number of personnel from both sides were injured.
- Following the incident, both sides were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in three other locations in the region.
- At the military talks, the two sides are expected to specifically focus on completing withdrawal of troops from Pangong Tso and Depsang besides laying out a detailed roadmap for disengagement of large numbers of troops from the rear bases by the two sides in a time-bound manner. Both sides had significantly ramped up troops and weaponry including tanks and artillery guns in eastern Ladakh.
- The formal process of disengagement of troops began on Monday morning after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday.
- The Chinese military has already completed moving back its troops from the face-off sites in Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs in line with the first phase of the disengagement process from the friction points on the LAC in eastern Ladakh, sources said.
- The main focus now shifts to Pangong Tso. India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers.
- There has been further withdrawal of Chinese troops in the ridgeline of Finger Four and they have removed some boats from Pangong lake, the sources said.
- On Friday, India and China held another round of diplomatic talks during which both sides resolved to push ahead with "complete disengagement" of troops in eastern Ladakh in a timely manner for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility.
Rahul takes on Modi over Chinese firms' donations to PM Fund
- Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi again trained his guns at the Prime Minister over the PM-CARES Fund saying why Narendra Modi was not sharing details when everyone knew which Chinese companies donated to it.
- "Why is the PM so scared of disclosing the names of those who donated money to him for PMCares? Everyone knows Chinese companies Huawei, Xiaomi, TikTok and OnePlus gave money. Why doesn't he share the details?" he tweeted.
- His remarks came after the Public Accounts Committee, one of the most important parliamentary panels that scrutinises key reports by the auditor general and has taken up issues, like the 2G spectrum scam, in the past, failed to arrive at a consensus on Friday on examining the government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic or the PM-CARES Fund, set up to tackle the crisis.
- The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which enjoys a majority in the panel led by senior leader Bhupender Yadav, blocked Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's attempt to name the PM-CARES Fund for examination, saying its funding was not sanctioned by Parliament and therefore it couldn't be taken up by the committee.
- The Congress has also been critical of the BJP over the handling of border faceoff with China in Ladakh.
China's use of economic sanctions now fail to serve its geopolitical goals
- China's practice of imposing economic sanctions on countires to achieve its own geopolitical goals is nothing new. The regular phenomenon of China bullying others has, infact, helped other countries to keep several options at bay, reported Minxin Pei in Nikkei Asian Review.
- Recently, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued an official warning against travel to Australia because of "a significant increase in racist acts and violence against Chinese and Asians in Australia," the Nikkei Asian Review reported.
- Two months ago, after Australia had demanded an investigation into the coronavirus outbreak in China, Beijing imposed an 80 per cent "anti-dumping" tariff on Australian barley, costing Australian 500 million Australian dollars a year.
- However, the examples of China using bullying other countries by imposing economic sanctions are umpteen.
- Minxin said Australia is only the latest victim of Chinese bullying. Japan, the Phillipnes and South Korea also has had a taste of Chinese economic coercion.
- In 2010, during a diplomatic row with Japan over the Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims as its own and calls it as Diaoyu, China briefly cut off the export of rare earth minerals to Japan.
- Similarly, in 2012, China restricted the import of bananas from the Philippines after Manila opposed Beijing's seizure of the Scarborough Shoal, which lies within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.
- In 2016, China targetted South Korea after it agreed to host the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system (THAAD) to defend against the North Korean threats.
- Minxin said as China believed that the US was using Pyongyang as a ruse to deploy THAAD's powerful radar to spy on Chinese military activities and potentially render Chinese missiles vulnerable to interception, it cut the number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea.
Desperate China now threatens to sue think tanks and researchers
- After several reports of the Chinese government torturing its ethnic minority community surfaced, the authorities are now considering to sue the researchers and think tanks who are behind these revelations.
- The Global Times has reported that German researcher Adrian Zenz and a think tank -- Australian Strategic Policy Institute -- will be sued for spreading "disinformation about China."
- he ethnic minority communities in Xinjiang might be an indication of the fact that the targeted birth prevention strategy is being conducted.
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the coercive family planning against Uyghurs and said that continuous repression of minorities in Xinjiang reflects that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has no respect for human life and basic human rights.
- "The United States condemns the use of forced population controls against Uyghur and other minority women and calls on the CCP to cease its campaign of repression. History will judge how we act today," he tweeted.
Traders' body protests after Chinese JV bids for 44 Vande Bharat trains
- In a letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged that a Chinese firm be disallowed from participation in bids, a day after it emerged as the only foreign player for the Railways' global tender for its ambitious semi-high speed indigenous Train 18 project.
- CRRC Pioneer Electric (India) Private Limited, one of the six bidders for the project, is a joint venture of the state owned Chinese firm CRRC Corporation Ltd with a Gurugram-based company according to its website.
- The tender is for procuring propulsion systems or electric traction kits for 44 trains to function as the Vande Bharat Express or Train 18.
It's not a child play: Telangana BJP chides Rahul Gandhi over India-China stand-off
- Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Telangana Spokesperson NV Subhash on Saturday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that he should stop mud-slinging against the Centre over the Line of Actual (LAC) stand-off matter. He further called Gandhi's demand for constituting a fact-finding mission as "ridiculous".
- Subhash told ANI, "Congress leader Rahul Gandhi must stop mud-slinging at the Centre over the LAC stand-off matter and it is ridiculous to demand a fact-finding mission when the tempers are running high between the two nations. I am surprised at Rahul Gandhi's series of demands since the China face-off and compared it to the remarks made by a perverted politician."
- Firstly, he must know that no government will reveal its internal strategies during tough situations with neighbouring nations to appease the Opposition leaders, Subhash added.
- "It is not a child's play to deal with as China agreed for disengagement of its forces from LAC and world nations are hailing the bold steps taken by Modi-led Government to thwart the attempts of China. Instead of elevating his dignity, Rahul Gandhi is losing public sympathy by making a series of remarks against the Centre. Also, Rahul Gandhi is getting jittery as most of the nation heads and the whole world is supporting the Modi Government against China," said Subhash.
- Subhash continued saying that at least the senior Congress leaders must educate Gandhi about what to demand and whatnot.
China behaving in a "belligerent" fashion all around its periphery, says former US NSA John Bolton
- Former US national security advisor John Bolton feels China has been behaving in a “belligerent” fashion, all around its periphery, in an effort to assert itself through not just political and military means but also through the belt and road initiative and others to gain increased sway over countries that become economically dependent on it.
- Bolton also believed that US President Donald Trump's "gut instinct" for the next four months is to take anything off the table that complicates what is already a difficult election campaign for him.
- The former NSA said he does not think Trump knows anything about the history of border clashes over the decades between India and China.
- Trump may have been briefed on it, but history doesn't really stick with him, said Bolton, who was the US NSA from April 2018 to September 2019 under the Trump administration.
Tibetan group holds protests against China in Delhi
- A small group of Tibetans held a protest against China in Delhi on Saturday, police said.
Security personnel testing COVID-19 positive won't be allowed to enter Sikkim
- With security personnel comprising a substantial chunk of the COVID-19 cases in Sikkim, the state government has decided to allow only those jawans to enter the Himalayan state who test negative for coronavirus
- Rapid antigen tests will be conducted exclusively on security personnel, including those from the Army and the paramilitary forces, at the Rangpo border check-post from Saturday onwards.
- The measure comes after more than three dozen security personnel posted in the Himalayan state, bordering China, tested positive for COVID-19.
- Of the 121 COVID-19 cases in the state, 41 are active and 13 patients (Army personnel) have migrated to neighbouring West Bengal, while the remaining people have been cured of the disease
Trump may not back India against China: Former US NSA John Bolton
- Former US NSA John Bolton said that Trump knows anything about the history of these clashes over the decades between India and China.
- "I don't know what Trump will do after the November elections once the guard rail is removed... He'll be back to the big China trade deal. If things were to develop between India and China in a more critical fashion, I'm not sure where he would come down," the former US envoy to the UN said.
- "I don't know which way he would go and I don't think he knows either. I think he sees the geostrategic relationship with China, for example, exclusively through the prism of trade," he added.
No guarantee Trump will back India against China if tensions escalate
- Former US NSA John Bolton
PM Modi will dictate future course of border demarcations with big nations standing witness: BJP's Om Mathur
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dictate the future course of border demarcation between India and China, BJP senior leader Om Prakash Mathur said on Saturday.
- Mathur said that it is the Prime Minister who will dictate the contours of the Line of Control (LoC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC) demarcating lines separating Indian borders with that of Pakistan and Chinese-controlled territory respectively.
- The senior BJP leader added that the Prime Minister will decide the future course of international border demarcation while many major countries stand witness. The way Modi handled the stand-off with China, the world is looking at him to lead, he said.
Pak no longer retains 'same strategic firm', US gearing up for 'bigger battle' with China: Think tank
- Pakistan's regional machinations no longer serve a strategic purpose for the United States as it used to be in the past for former American administration. Instead, the Trump dispensation now appears to be gearing up for a bigger and multifaceted battle with the 'Dragon' further east, said a European think tank.
- According to European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), the fact that Pakistan, China's sworn best friend and stooge combined, no longer holds the same charm for the US it once did was made evident in the US State Department report which highlighted the fact that Islamabad had been designated as a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and that it had been re-designated as a CPC in 2019.
Sonia holds meet with Cong LS MPs to discuss political, COVID-19 situation in India
- Congress president Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with the party's Lok Sabha MPs through video conferencing on Saturday and is learnt to have discussed with them the COVID-19 situation in the country.
- According to sources, she also discussed the current political situation and the key issues that would be raised by the Congress in the next Parliament session where the party will seek to corner the government on the handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the Sino-India standoff at Ladakh.
Reinforcement of 60 ITBP companies along the LAC
In wake of the recent standoff, the Centre has ordered reinforcement of 60 ITBP companies along the LAC in various areas of Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
ITBP expected to get additional responsibilities
The ITBP, which along with the Army is responsible for patrolling the 3,488 km LAC, is now expected to get additional responsibilities as part of the new plan being prepared to prevent face-to-face contact between the two armies after the Galwan clash.
Body armour for security personnel on China border
- Protective body armour used by security forces to guard against stone pelting in the Kashmir Valley will now be used by paramilitary troops patrolling the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to fend off sharp-edged baton and stone attacks by Chinese forces.
- ET has reliably gathered that the Centre is preparing a detailed plan according to which each company of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will have 'full-body protectors' for at least 10% of its personnel. This, officials explained, can be used on a rotational basis by troops moving out on patrols.
In India-China crisis, an India-US bonanza in view
- A border clash has plunged ties between India and China to their lowest point in decades. But one beneficiary looks clear -- the US-India relationship.
- Experts say India could finally end equivocation about openly aligning itself with the long-eager United States, although there will still be disagreements -- which, paradoxically, are now mostly due to Washington.
GoI should allow independent fact-finding mission to identify intrusion by China, says Rahul Gandhi
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that the Centre must listen to the veterans and inform India of the steps taken to ensure no more Indian territory is taken by China and allow an independent fact-finding mission to identify intrusion by China.
India to lose Rs 50,000 cr in forex if solar developers given exemption from customs duty on Chinese imports: AISIA
- India will lose nearly Rs 50,000 crore in foreign exchange if solar developers are given exemption from basic customs duty on Chinese imports, the All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA) has said.
- AISIA Chairman Hitesh Doshi noted that there are nearly 25 GW of contracts which have been awarded for which the government has allowed developers to avail the pass through benefits which will exempt imports from China from the duty.
- "The government's decision on the "pass through" clause will adversely impact domestic manufacturers as they will have no orders for the next 2-3 years. Already the COVID crisis has affected the manufacturers and this will add to our woes," Doshi added.
- India imports nearly 85-90 per cent of modules from China among other components.
Chouhan takes dig at Rahul, says will give Rs 1 lakh prize if someone tells who are his advisors
- "Rahul Gandhi raises questions on conflict with China. It is not known why Rahul Gandhi is called a political leader. It is not known whether he is with India or China on Galwan developments. Who are his advisors if someone tells me, I will give Rs one lakh as prize," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said.
- "Who writes his tweet? Many times he gets trapped because of them," he added.
China envoy: Indian, Chinese troops disengaging after clash
- China's ambassador to India said Friday that Indian and Chinese front-line troops are disengaging in accordance with an agreement reached by military commanders following a clash last month that left at least 20 soldiers dead in the Galwan Valley.
- Ambassador Sun Weidong said the two countries should be partners rather than rivals and handle differences properly to bring their ties back on the right track.
- In video remarks released in New Delhi, the Chinese envoy said the two countries have the wisdom and capability to properly handle differences.
Amazon.com bans, then un-bans TikTok app from employee mobile devices
- In the span of a few hours on Friday, Amazon.com Inc banned and then unbanned the TikTok video sharing app from employee mobile devices, calling the move a mistake.
- The news generated widespread attention for the Chinese-owned social media platform coming the same week U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is "certainly looking at" banning TikTok, suggesting it shared information with the Chinese government.
- It was not immediately clear what led to the initial ban by Amazon. One person familiar with the matter said senior Amazon executives were unaware of the request to delete TikTok from employee devices. The ban was reversed after TikTok and Amazon representatives discussed the matter, according to an email sent to TikTok employees.
