Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - HT Navi Mumbai Live
Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakras for gallantry tales from Valley
NEW DELHI: Military talks with China on reducing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have hit a roadblock, with the Indian Army taking the hard line with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as it (the former) seeks to restore the status quo ante of early April in eastern Ladakh.
According to top officials who spoke to Hindustan Times on Friday on the condition of anonymity, the Indian Army has asserted that the sanctity of the LAC is non-negotiable. The comments came on a day when defence minister Rajnath Singh assured the armed forces that India will not hesitate to deliver a “befitting reply” to any attacks from a foreign power.
Five rounds of top-level military talks have failed to break the deadlock due to serious differences between India and China that flared following transgressions by the PLA earlier this summer. “Talks are stuck in a stalemate because of the India Army’s insistence that the PLA must withdraw to positions held by it as of April 2020, and the Chinese reluctance to restore status quo ante in some areas,” said one of the officials cited above.
The Finger Area—a set of eight cliffs jutting out of Sirijap range overlooking Pangong Lake—has emerged as the hardest part of the disengagement process with little hope of immediate resolution.
Officials said the Finger Area—a set of eight cliffs jutting out of Sirijap range overlooking Pangong Lake—has been the hardest part of disengagement
Late last month, the Chinese ambassador said Beijing was not expanding its claim in Pangong Lake
Before PLA grabbed positions on Finger Four, which overlooks Indian deployments, the Indian Army would patrol up to Finger Eight
The new positions held by PLA have curtailed the scope of Indian patrols. Fingers Four and Eight are 8 km apart
Disengagement is also slow in Gogra area, although it has progressed somewhat smoothly at friction points in Galwan Valley and Hot Springs
NEW DELHI: A Jammu & Kashmir Police constable, a Special Forces officer and an Indian Air Force pilot are among the 84 security personnel whose names have been approved for top gallantry awards by President Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of Independence Day, according to a government release issued on Friday.
While head constable Abdul Rashid Kalas of J&K Police has been posthumously awarded the
Officials indicated that for talks to progress, China has to move its deployment back from its current positions to the status that existed as of April. This includes restoring status quo in the Finger Area
Kirti Chakra — India’s secondhighest peacetime gallantry award — for outstanding bravery, nine security personnel have earned the Shaurya Chakra, country’s third-highest peacetime gallantry award, for valour.
The other decorations awarded are five Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 60 Sena Medals (Gallantry), four Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and five Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
On August 10, the CDS told MPs that de-escalation in Ladakh could be a long-drawn process but the military is prepared for the long haul through the harsh winter
The ground situation remains unchanged in Ladakh sector, where both armies have deployed almost 100,000 soldiers and weaponry in forward and depth areas.