New Delhi:

India and China on Thursday had a “frank, constructive and forward-looking” exchange of views on the situation along the LAC to “narrow down” differences and find an early resolution to outstanding issues, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The 31st meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs was held in Beijing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

During the meeting, it was reiterated that “restoration of peace and tranquillity, and respect for the LAC are the essential basis for restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations”, it said.

In line with the guidance provided by the two foreign ministers’ meetings in Astana and Vientiane in July to accelerate the discussions, and building on the WMCC meeting held last month, “the two sides had a frank, constructive and forward-looking exchange of views on the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to narrow down the differences and find early resolution of the outstanding issues”, the statement said.

For this, they further agreed for “intensified contact through diplomatic and military channels”.

Gourangalal Das, Joint Secretary (east Asia), from the MEA led the Indian delegation. The Chinese delegation was led by Hong Liang, director general of the Boundary & Ocean Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In the meantime, the two sides decided to jointly uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas, in accordance with relevant bilateral agreements, protocols and understandings reached between the two governments, the MEA statement said.

The leader of the Indian delegation also called on the vice-minister in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The 30th meeting of the WMCC was held in New Delhi on July 31.

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

New Delhi:

Five soldiers of the Indian Army were killed after their tank met with an accident during a river-crossing exercise near the Line of Actual Control in Leh’s Daulat Beg Oldi area in the early hours of Saturday, officials said.

A Junior Commissioned Officer, or JCO, is among the five killed in the accident that happened around 1 am.

The soldiers were on a training mission and were crossing the Bodhi River near Mandir Morh, 148 kilometres from Leh, on their T-72 tank when suddenly the water levels began to rise, official sources said. Soon the tank and the soldiers were submerged in the swelling river, they added.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh led the nation in mourning the deaths and said: “Deeply saddened at the loss of lives of five of our brave Indian Army soldiers in an unfortunate accident while getting the tank across a river in Ladakh. We will never forget the exemplary service of our gallant soldiers to the nation. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. The nation stands firm with them during this hour of grief,” he posted on X.

New Delhi:

China stepped up its military presence and infrastructure build-up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in 2022 amid the border tension with India, a Pentagon report has said. Underground storage facilities, new roads, a dual-purpose airport and multiple helipads are part of Beijing’s infrastructure push along the LAC, according to ‘Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China’ report 2023.

“Since early May 2020, sustained tensions along the India-China border have dominated the Western Theater Command’s attention. Differing perceptions between India and the PRC regarding border demarcations along the LAC, combined with recent infrastructure construction on both sides, led to multiple clashes, an ongoing standoff, and military buildups along the shared border,” the report says.

It adds that China’s Western Theater Command implemented large-scale mobilisation and deployment along LAC in response to the Galwan Valley clash that claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers. The deployments, the report said, are likely to continue through this year.

The report underlines that negotiations between India and China “made minimal progress as both sides resisted losing perceived advantages on the border”.

Listing Beijing’s infrastructure build-up along LAC, the report says, “In 2022, China continued to develop military infrastructure along the LAC. These improvements include underground storage facilities near Doklam, new roads in all three sectors of the LAC, new villages in disputed areas in neighboring Bhutan, a second bridge over Pangong Lake, a dual-purpose airport near the center sector, and multiple helipads.”

On military deployments, it says, “In 2022, China deployed one border regiment, supported by two divisions of Xinjiang and Tibet Military Districts with four combined arms brigades (CAB) in reserve in the western sector of the LAC. China also deployed as many as three light-to-medium CABs in the eastern sector from other theater commands and an additional three CABs in the central sector of the LAC. Although some elements of a light CAB eventually withdrew, a majority of the deployed forces remain in place along the LAC.”

Earlier, in June this year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said India is talking to China at both military and diplomatic levels to resolve issues. He had added that the government would never let the sanctity of India’s borders be violated.

“I want to repeat that there have been some activities on the LAC since 2013, but I outrightly reject (claims) that there has been any significant change or encroachment on the LAC after our government was formed,” Mr Singh had said at a security conclave, responding to the Opposition’s charge at the Narendra Modi government over tension along the LAC.

The Pentagon report also says China has more than 500 operational nuclear warheads and will probably have over 1,000 by 2030. It added that the Chinese Navy, already the largest in the world, is growing further.

New Delhi:

The Army on Saturday said the flash floods in the hinterland of Sikkim are not affecting its operational preparedness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the state and the formations responsible for the border management posture are maintaining a high state of readiness.

While the hinterland of Sikkim has been affected, the operational situation along the LAC in Sikkim continues to be stable, the Army said.

It said approximately 1,500 tourists are assessed to be stranded in the areas of Lachung and Lachen valleys in North Sikkim and efforts are on to rescue them.

The Army suffered damage in the floods as some of its camps along the banks of the Teesta river were swept away.

“The formations responsible for the Border Management Posture are maintaining a high state of readiness and are optimally stocked as per the sustainable operational logistics plan,” it said.

The Army’s assertion came on a day when the bodies of eight soldiers were found. The soldiers were part of a group of 22 Army personnel that went missing following the flash floods which were triggered by a cloudburst.

A cloudburst in South Lhonak lake in North Sikkim on October 4 caused a devastating flood in Sikkim.

“The level of water in the Teesta increased by about 50-60 feet in height which caused calamitous floods downstream,” the Army said, adding it was also affected as some of its camps along the river bank were either damaged or washed away.

“A vehicle parking area at Burdang near Singtam was affected by the flash flood and 23 soldiers and 39 vehicles that were taking an overnight transit halt have been submerged in silt or swept away,” the Army said.

“At the site of the incident, silt and mud measuring up to 30-40 feet high have been deposited and most of the vehicles are buried underneath,” it said.

A massive search and rescue operation was immediately launched by the Indian Army, Border Roads Organisation, along with NDRF, state disaster relief teams, para military forces and civil administration.

“The Indian Army along with all agencies and Civil Administration continue their relentless search and rescue operations, while at the same time focusing on resuscitation of communication and other infrastructure in a well-coordinated manner,” the Army said in a statement.

The Army said it received reports of some ammunition, explosives and stores of the force being swept away from various camps and that 15 vehicles out of 39 that were missing have been recovered.

“Some ammunition, explosives and stores of the Indian Army from various camps swept away have been reported from various places along the downstream river banks,” it said.

“The Indian Army has issued advisories through civil administration and deployed look out teams along with state police to warn the locals for reporting sighting of such items. Ammunition experts have been deployed to destroy the explosives recovered in a controlled manner,” it said.

The Army said the national highway 10 (NH 10), the lifeline of Sikkim, has been rendered “unusable” due to damage to the road surface and many bridges across the Teesta river were damaged.

“Alternate routes to Gangtok are available through East Sikkim and routes to West and South Sikkim are also available. However, in North Sikkim, roads beyond Mangan are currently cut off,” it said.

Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen RP Kalita along with Lt Gen VPS Kaushik, General-Officer Commanding of the Trishakti Corps, undertook an aerial survey on Friday to assess the extent of damage and plan for the relief efforts.

According to estimates by the state government, a total of 142 people were missing, out of which 26 bodies have been recovered so far, the Army said. It said the exact assessment of the damage is yet to be corroborated due to the inclement weather and incessant rains.

Out of the 26 bodies, eight have been positively identified as that of Indian Army soldiers, the Army said.

It said approximately 1,500 tourists are assessed to be stranded in the areas of Lachung and Lachen valleys in North Sikkim.

“The Indian Army along with the local administration has been extending assistance to the stranded tourists and locals by providing food, medical aid and telephone connectivity through satellite terminals,” it said.

Teams have collected data of all the tourists staying in various hotels and some of them have been accommodated in Army camps, it said.

Special helplines have been set up at Indian Army’s Trishakti Corps headquarter and family members back home of all the stranded tourists have been informed about their well-being.

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