India-china military talks on LAC row inconclusive
WEEKS-LONG ROW Lieutenant general-level talks held in Ladakh amid buildup of troops
A critical meeting on Saturday between Indian and Chinese military officials, led by lieutenant generals from both armies, ended up “inconclusively” as both sides made attempts to resolve a weekslong row along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, officials said.
This is in line with what the Hindustan Times reported on Saturday that it may not be possible to achieve an immediate breakthrough to the Ladakh standoff.
The general officer commanding of Leh-based 14 Corps, Lt Gen Harinder Singh, met his Chinese counterpart, Major General Liu Lin, who is the commander of South Xinjiang Military Region of Chinese PLA. This came almost a month after tensions between India and China began building up along the disputed border. The row has already taken bilateral ties to a new low.
This was perhaps the first time that lieutenant generalequivalents from both sides met in a sensitive sector to defuse border tensions – the highest talks between India and China at the tactical level have so far usually involved major generals.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday announced that a meeting between senior
Indian and Chinese military officers will be held on June 6 to discuss the border situation. The Northern Army commander, Lt Gen YK Joshi, has been in Leh for a security review of the sensitive sector where Indian and Chinese soldiers are eyeball-to-eyeball at four locations along LAC.
Several rounds of talks between local military commanders, including three rounds of discussions between major generals, have failed to break the impasse that began with a violent confrontation between rival patrols near Pangong lake four weeks ago.
Around 250 soldiers from the two sides clashed near Pangong lake on the night of May 5-6, and the scuffle left scores of troops injured.
While an immediate flare-up was avoided as both armies stuck to protocols to resolve the immediate situation, tensions swiftly spread to other pockets along LAC.
China has marshalled close to 5,000 soldiers and deployed tanks and artillery on its side of the disputed border in Ladakh sector, where India has also sent military reinforcements and matched the neighbour’s military moves, as reported by Hindustan Times on May 26.
Chinese state-run media has described the latest tensions as the worst since the 2017 Doklam standoff that lasted 73 days. HT was the first to report on May 10 about tensions flaring up between India and China in north Sikkim, where 150 soldiers were involved in a tense standoff a day earlier.
Four Indian and seven Chinese soldiers were injured at Naku La during the confrontation.
Former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General BS Jaswal (retd) said, “What has happened is that face-offs used to take place first and then the build-up. Now, they got troops who were training and this led to a build-up and then face-offs. The intention has changed. Thus, this de-escalation will not take place so easily. There will be certain amount of withdrawals in due course, but they will not completely back up from the transgressed line without taking concessions….”
This is not going to be solved anytime soon, Jaswal said, adding could be longer than the 73-day Doklam. “It will require military and diplomatic maneuvering.”
What has happened is that face-offs used to take place first and then the build-up. Now, they got troops who were training and this led to a build-up and then face-offs.
A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court will hear on June 9 a batch of review petitions challenging the top court’s September 2018 verdict upholding the validity of Aadhaar, the unique identity number assigned to people resident in the country .
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde will decide the review petitions in chambers.
In its judgment on September 26, 2018, the top court had by a 4-1 majority affirmed the constitutionality of the 12-digit unique identity scheme and the Aadhaar Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services Act, 2016 (Aadhaar Act).
The court held that Aadhaar would be mandatory for accessing social welfare schemes, but it cannot be forced on people for opening bank accounts or for mobile and internet connection. The Aadhaar scheme was first challenged in the Supreme Court in 2012 on the grounds that it lacked statutory backing and invaded the right to privacy.
A five-judge bench headed by then CJI Dipak Misra had delivered its judgment, upholding the validity of Aadhaar saying it saying it involved “parting with minimal information” to fulfil the “larger public interest” of the marginalized and the poor, who can use it to obtain government benefits and subsidies, an argument which was strongly put forward by the central government in defence of the unique identity number.
The sole dissenting judge, justice DY Chandrachud, said the Aadhaar Act could not have been passed as a money bill, calling it a “fraud on the Constitution”.
This issue of whether certain laws including Aadhaar Act could have been passed as a money bill is to be heard by another seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court in a separate case.