China laying cables to bolster communications at border flashpoint: India

Such cables, which would provide forward troops with secure lines of communication to bases in the rear, have recently been spotted to the south of Pangong Tso lake

Two Indian officials said Chinese troops were laying a network of optical fibre cables at a western Himalayan flashpoint with India, suggesting they were digging in for the long haul despite high-level talks aimed at resolving a standoff there. Such cables, which would provide forward troops with secure lines of communication to bases in the rear, have recently been spotted to the south of Pangong Tso lake in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, a senior government official said.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to questions on the matter from Reuters, while defence officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Thousands of Indian and Chinese troops backed by tanks and aircraft are locked in an uneasy stalemate along a 70 km-long front to the south of the lake. Each country has accused the other of escalating the standoff. A third Indian official said on Monday that there had been no significant withdrawals or reinforcements on either side since the foreign ministers of the two countries met last week. “It is as tense as earlier,” he said.

Above Leh, Ladakh’s main city, Indian fighter planes flew throughout the morning, their engines booming and echoing across the valley surrounded by brown, barren mountains. “Our biggest worry is that they have laid optical fibre cables for high-speed communications,” the first official said, referring to the lake’s southern bank, where Indian and Chinese troops are only a few hundred metres apart at some points…Read More

China not de-escalating situation on LAC, continues to deploy 40,000 troops

The Chinese are also not honouring their commitment for disengagement at the friction points in Eastern Ladakh and not moving back as per the agreed terms

Currrent Affairs: It seems that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is not in a mood to de-escalate the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as it has continued deployment of around 40,000 troops in its front and depth areas for the Eastern Ladakh sector.

The Chinese are also not honouring their commitment for disengagement at the friction points in Eastern Ladakh and not moving back as per the agreed terms during the multiple rounds of talks at the government and Army level and intervention at the senior level like the one done by the National Security Advisor couple of weeks ago would be required for further progress, the sources said.

“The Chinese have not shown any signs of de-escalation as they continue to maintain their heavy troop deployment of almost 40,000 troops supported by heavy weaponry like air defence systems, armoured personnel carriers and long-range artillery in front and depth areas,” sources said. The disengagement process has also not made any progress since the last round of talks between the two Corps Commanders held last week and ground positions have also not changed, the sources said.

Chingari to Trell: Desi apps upbeat after India's digital strike on China

While the Indian alternatives are seeing a huge surge in usage, experts believe that their dream run could be short-lived if the government decides to overturn the ban

The ban on TikTok is proving to be a ‘demonetisation moment’ for desi social apps like Chingari. Its co-founder Sumit Ghosh has had sleepless nights ever since the government banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok. He is trying to find ways to equip the app so that it can handle the unprecedented and sudden spike in traffic. Chingari is adding up to 600,000 users per hour, crossing a total user base of 7.5 million.

Ghosh said the app has a creation tool, which is as good as TikTok’s, hence a lot of influencers are moving to their platform. The idea behind starting Chingari, he says, is not to build a TikTok clone but to position itself as a super app for India like WeChat. “We just wanted to penetrate the market with short videos, which have already taken off in India. We are now working on live streaming and chat functions, which will be rolled out soon,” said Ghosh.

The app, which also has a news feature, is hoping to close a Series-A round of funding next week. Chingari has a reward point feature in which every time a content creator uploads a video, he earns points that can be encashed later through partner UPI platforms.

Experts say top content creators and influencers make between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh per post on platforms like TikTok, and such influencers can have at least four deals a month. “In the short term, many (content creators) would have lost their livelihoods. Now they have realised and won’t keep all their eggs in one basket,” said Rahul Singh, chief executive and co-founder at Bengaluru-based influential marketing firm Winkl…Read More

Govt wants ‘origin of products’ displayed, calls e-commerce firms for meet

This follows the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) platform making it mandatory for its listed sellers to specify the country of origin while registering all new products on the portal

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has called e-commerce majors, including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Paytm, for a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ‘displaying origin of the product’ on these platforms, as anti-China sentiment picks up in the country. This follows the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) platform making it mandatory for its listed sellers to specify the country of origin while registering all new products on the portal.

The border stand-off between India and China has sparked a campaign here that is gaining momentum to boycott Chinese products.The meeting is being organised on a video conferencing platform, according to people in the know. Ministry officials said that this issue has come up earlier and implementation issues for e-marketplaces would be discussed at the meeting on Wednesday. Among other invitees to the discussion are Pepperfry and The E-commerce Council of India.

E-commerce executives said asking sellers to fill up information about ‘country of origin’ for new listings of products is not complicated. However, the challenge is that the millions of existing products already listed on the e-commerce platforms don’t have those details and it would be a very “time consuming” process for the sellers to mark the country of origin for those products. However, for some products, this information is already available…Read More

Galwan clash: China talks peace but raises troop deployment by 30%

It said it would continue holding talks “for peace and tranquillity” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

A day after a 11-hour border meeting between senior military commanders of India and China, Beijing has welcomed an agreement to “cool down the situation”. It said it would continue holding talks “for peace and tranquillity” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Describing the meeting, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesperson said: “This meeting showed that the two sides wish to control and alleviate the situation through dialogue and consultation.”

Beijing flatly rejected the contention of Union Minister General V K Singh (retired) that more than 40 Chinese soldiers had been killed in the Ladakh face-off. “I can tell you for sure this is fake news,” said the MFA spokesperson. Accompanying Beijing’s talk of “dialogue and consultation”, however, is a massive Chinese troop build-up along the border in Ladakh.

Since the June 15 clash, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has inducted large numbers of troops, armoured vehicles, and artillery along the LAC – from Depsang and Galwan in northern Ladakh to Hot Springs, Pangong Tso, and Chushul in central Ladakh, to Demchok and Chumar in southern Ladakh, said a well-informed government source.

Ladakh standoff: Plan to start construction of Ayodhya Ram Temple suspended

The decision comes days after a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh left 20 Indian Army personnel dead

Amid the Indo-China border standoff, the Ram Mandir trust has put on hold its plan to begin the construction of the temple in Ayodhya. The decision comes days after a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh left 20 Indian Army personnel dead. Expressing concern over the killing of Indian soldiers, the trust which has been charged with the construction of the temple after the historic Supreme Court verdict last year, said a new date will be decided soon.

ALSO READ: Ram temple in Ayodhya: Trust’s meeting postponed due to Covid-19 lockdown

“The decision to begin construction (of temple) will be taken according to the situation in the country and will be announced officially,” Anil Mishra, member of the trust told PTI. In an official communique, the trust said that the situation at the India-China border is serious and defending the country is most important. The trust also paid tributes to the soldiers. Meanwhile, different Hindu organisations staged protests against China in Ayodhya. While Hindu Mahasabha activists burned the Chinese flag, activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) burned the effigy of Chinese President Xi Jinping and smashed Chinese-made products.

China must use diplomacy to settle border issues with India: US House panel

We see increasing forces of China moved up to the north of India on the Line of Actual Control there on the Indian border, says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

China has moved up its forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said, asserting that authoritarian regimes take these kinds of actions.Several areas along the LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have witnessed major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies recently, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of respective positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs.

Several areas along the LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have witnessed major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies recently, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of respective positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs.

India has said that its troops fully abide by the alignment of the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border and it is the Chinese side that has undertaken activity hindering India’s normal patrolling patterns.”We see even today increasing forces of China moved up to the north of India on the Line of Actual Control there on the Indian border,” Pompeo told Marc Thiessen and Danielle Pletka of AEI’s ‘What The Hell Is Going On’ Podcast…Read More

China came little farther this time, will resolve diplomatically: Rajnath

Indian and Chinese troops used to come face to face on the LAC many times but this time the situation is different, said the defence minister in a TV interview

As Indian and Chinese troops remain engaged in a tense border standoff, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday asserted that the government will not allow India’s pride to be hurt under any circumstances even as he said bilateral talks were on at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the row. Singh also said that he conveyed to US Defence Secretary Mark T Esper during a telephonic conversation on Friday that India and China have an existing mechanisms to resolve “problems” through talks at diplomatic and military levels.

In the midst of the flare-ups between Indian and Chinese armies, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was “ready, willing and able to mediate” between the two countries. He reiterated the offer on Thursday as well. The Ministry of External Affairs indirectly rejected the offer two days ago, but Singh became the first central minister to speak on India’s position on the issue with clarity.

In an interview to ABP News, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that Indian and Chinese troops used to come face to face on the LAC many times but this time the situation is different. He also said that Chinese troops have come in a little farther than usual this time. In an interview to ABP News, the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that Indian and Chinese troops used to come face to face on the LAC many times but this time the situation is different. He also said that Chinese troops have come in a little farther than usual this time…Read More

Senior Indian, Chinese Army commanders in talks to defuse tension in Ladakh

Parallel diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Beijing are also working towards a peaceful resolution.

High-level Indian and Chinese military commanders met at designated points along the LAC (line of actual control) on May 22 and May 23 to defuse the current situation in Eastern Ladakh. Sources told ANI that parallel diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Beijing were also working towards a peaceful resolution. Since the beginning of May, Chinese army has been involved in several incidents in Eastern Ladakh, along the LAC.

While the Indian and Chinese military commanders are talking face-to-face in Ladakh, diplomatic efforts are underway in the national capitals of the two countries to resolve the situation. The Indian Army has been effectively responding by building and deploying its own capabilities in Eastern Ladakh, including the Galwan sector. Sources have told ANI that no compromise will be made with regard to maintaining the sanctity of India’s borders and that while India believes in peace, it is firm and resolute when it comes to the defence of its territory.

This has been reflected in spirit even in the four or more agreements between India and China, which have historically formed the mechanism for border management. The mechanisms are still in place and working at a bilateral level. Two of them are of 1993 and 1996 and there is a CBM (Confidence Building Measures) in place since 2005 and a border agreement since 2013.