India must create a graded Munir response plan. He could rear his head before long
Govt focusing on acquisition, military leaders on operation—it's a calibrated division of responsibility
Government is being smart by letting military leaders speak on operational aspects of Operation Sindoor while Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh focuses on budgets and future acquisitions. It's a calibrated division of responsibility — strategic and political. Singh is on a mission and has an opportunity to leave a meaningful legacy.
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Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
EAM Jaishankar likely to visit China first time in five years. What's on the agenda?
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will likely visit China next week, his first trip to the neighbouring country in five years. Jaishankar's visit comes about three weeks after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited China to attend the SCO's defence ministers' meeting in Qingdao. The ties between the two nations came under severe strain following the 2020 military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. During the trip, Jaishankar will hold a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, before traveling to Tianjin to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's council of foreign ministers on July 14-15, according to a report in Bloomberg. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi may also visit India this month to hold a fresh round of talks with NSA Ajit Doval under the framework of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary dispute, news agency PTI had reported earlier. The two nations have been making efforts to repair strained ties of late. Last month, India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited China to attend the SCO's defence ministers' meeting in Qingdao. In December, NSA Doval visited Beijing for Special Representatives (SR) talks with Wang. Doval visited China last month as well for a meeting of top security officials of the SCO member nations. On April 9, Jaishankar had said that India and China were moving towards a 'positive direction' in their ties. However, the minister said work needs to be done to normalise the relationship. 'I think we are moving in a positive direction,'Jaishankar said, speaking at the News 18 Rising Bharat Summit. The SCO is a China-led multilateral group comprising nine permanent members, including India and Pakistan. China is the current chair of the SCO, and it is hosting the meetings of the grouping in that capacity. Jaishankar and Yi are expected to discuss a range of issues, including rare earth supplies to India, the Dalai Lama's succession, the recent India-Pakistan tensions, and the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, the Bloomberg report said. The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020, and a deadly clash at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between the two neighbours. The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21. The decision to revive the SR mechanism and other such dialogue formats was taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan on October 23. Modi-Xi meeting came two days after India and China firmed up a disengagement pact for Depsang and Demchok. In the last few months, India and China have initiated a number of measures to repair the bilateral ties. Last month, the two sides resumed the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra after a gap of nearly five years. Key Takeaways Jaishankar's visit to China is his first in five years, indicating a renewed focus on diplomacy. The upcoming talks aim to address critical issues including border disputes and economic cooperation. Recent high-level exchanges demonstrate both nations' commitment to normalizing strained relations.
Hans India
3 hours ago
- Hans India
Op Sindoor: India hit 9 terror targets in 23 mins: Ajit Doval
Chennai: Indian military's precision hitting capabilities were on display during Operation Sindoor where nine terror targets crisscrossing Pakistan were smashed, "we knew who was where," while back home not even a glass pane was broken, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said here on Friday. In what was seen as India's retribution to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that left 26 persons dead, none of the intended targets in Pakistan was missed during the military offensive, Doval said while also taking pride in India's capability and technological prowess in neutralising the threats from across the border. The precision was to the point where India knew who was where, and the entire operation lasted hardly 23 minutes past 1 am on May 7, he said. "Thereafter, they said Pakistan did this and so on. You tell me one image or photograph which shows any damage to India being done. Not even a glass pane was broken," Doval said while speaking at the 62nd convocation ceremony of IIT, Madras. "They (international media) wrote these things and put out things. The images only showed 13 air bases in Pakistan before and after May 10, whether it was in Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Chaklala. I am only telling you what the foreign media put out on the basis of images. We are capable of doing that (damage to Pakistani air bases)." Addressing the students, Doval also said the link between technology and warfare was very important, and that the country should develop indigenous technology to meet its requirements. Referring to the earlier speaker, Padma Subrahmanyam—Padma Vibhushan awardee and legendary danseuse—congratulating him for the success of Operation Sindoor and evoking thunderous applause from the students and graduates, the NSA said, "I am really proud of it (Operation Sindoor). Much of it was driven by indigenous content." "We are proud of it—that some of our best systems worked, whether it was BrahMos (missiles), the integrated air control and command system, or battlefield surveillance. We decided on nine terrorist targets, not in the border areas but in the crisscross of Pakistan, and we missed none." No unintended site was struck, and the strike was precise to the point where "we knew who was where. And the entire operation lasted for 23 minutes," he said. In a subtle rebuttal to coverage of international media, including the New York Times, questioning the operation's effectiveness, the NSA said, "They wrote what they wanted. But satellite images tell the real story—that 13 Pakistan airbases, before and after May 10, show exactly what happened." Earlier, speaking at the convocation, Padma Subrahmanyam said the historic victory of Operation Sindoor was a manifestation of adherence to the valour that the Bhagavad Gita preaches. "As a proud Indian, I have always offered my salutations to our jawans, who are our national guardian angels," she said, congratulating Doval for his role in the operation. At the event, Doval said the country could not afford to lose the technology battle and remain behind or fall decades behind others. He acknowledged the role of IIT, Madras and the private sector in developing 5G in two-and-a-half years' time, whereas the Chinese took over 12 years and spent 300 billion dollars to develop 5G technology. "Even a screw that deals with anything related to data or security protection must come from a trusted source. It is either made in India or by somebody who is very close to India," he added, emphasising the need to totally insulate our system from the enemy. A total of 3,227 students graduated. As many as 3,661 Degrees (including Joint and Dual Degrees) were awarded to the students on the occasion. A total of 529 PhDs were also awarded, which included PhDs, Joint Degree with foreign institutions and Dual Degree PhDs, the institute said. The precision was to the point where India knew who was where, and the entire operation lasted hardly 23 minutes past 1 am on May 7, he said. "Thereafter, they said Pakistan did this and so on. You tell me one image or photograph which shows any damage to India being done. Not even a glass pane was broken," Doval said.
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
Jaishankar likely to be in China next week, first visit since LAC standoff
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is likely to travel to Tianjin in China for the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on July 14-15, sources have told The Indian Express. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to host the meeting which will be attended by counterparts from Pakistan, Iran and Russia among others. This will be Jaishankar's first visit to China since the start of the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh in May 2020. The meeting of the Foreign Ministers will also set the stage for the SCO Leaders' Summit in Tianjin, which is expected to be held early September. Jaishankar's visit follows visits by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and NSA Ajit Doval, who had travelled to China in the last week of June for SCO meetings. While these discussions are taking place in multilateral meetings, they assume significance in the bilateral context. Delhi and Beijing have been working towards normalising their bilateral relationship, but India's Operation Sindoor against China's ally Pakistan brought out divergences in the relationship. In recent days, Indian Army officers have publicly accused China of complicity in Pakistani military strikes against India in the wake of Operation Sindoor. Lt General Rahul R Singh, Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development and Sustenance), said Beijing provided 'live inputs' to Pakistan on Indian operational deployment even when talks were underway between the Indian and Pakistani Directors General of Military Operations regarding cessation of hostilities. Naming Pakistan, China and Turkey as the 'three adversaries' India faced on its 'one border' in the north, Lt Gen Singh said China provided 'all possible support', treated the northern border as a 'live lab' to test its weapons supplied to Pakistan, and had followed its '36 stratagems', hoping to kill the adversary with 'a borrowed knife', and to 'use the neighbour to cause pain'. This was the strongest indictment of Beijing's involvement in the military confrontation between India and Pakistan in May. In the last week of June, eight months after the disengagement of troops at the LAC in eastern Ladakh, Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun that there was need for a 'structured roadmap of permanent engagement and de-escalation'. He called for a 'permanent solution of border demarcation'. In his talks on the sidelines of the meeting of SCO Defence Ministers in Qingdao, Singh underlined the need for 'bridging the trust deficit created after the 2020 border standoff, by taking action on ground'. The SCO Defence Ministers failed to issue a joint statement after Singh declined to sign the draft statement which omitted a reference to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in J&K. So, Jaishankar's visit will be a challenging task for New Delhi. China is the host of the SCO Leaders' Summit in Tianjin which will be hosted by President Xi Jinping. Doval had travelled to Beijing in December last year when India and China agreed on a set of 'six consensus' including resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, trans-border river cooperation and Nathula border trade. This was announced by the two sides following talks in Beijing between Doval and Wang Yi — they are also the Special Representatives (SRs). The two sides have taken some steps including the resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, currently underway. The two sides are also talking to each other about resuming direct flights and are looking to ease visa curbs for Chinese nationals and sharing data on transnational rivers like the Brahmaputra. The two sides also agreed to jointly make preparations for the 24th Special Representatives' Meeting on the China-India Boundary Question. Sources said the Indian side is working towards engaging the Chinese side with 'eyes wide open' because the border situation is still not normal. About 50,000-60,000 troops are still deployed on either side of the LAC. Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism '2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury's special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban's capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More
