The step could be significant as the area of tension is very well known for its bone- chilling temperature and war at such place can be dangerous. The Indian Army used an agreement which allows the two militaries to take logical assistance from each other such as buying fuel and spare parts for warships and aircraft, for the transaction.

The Logistics Exchange Memorandum Agreement signed in August 2016 aims to promote interoperability between the two militaries.

Till now, India sourced high-altitude kits for its defense force mainly from Europe and China. S K Saini, the second-highest ranking general in the Indian Army, is on a scheduled visit to the U.S. Army Pacific Command to discuss other emergency purchases and building capabilities.

The tension at Ladakh which surfaced after the firing at the LAC after 45 years on June 15 has prompted both the sides to move thousands of troops, tanks and missiles to the Himalayan border, while fighter jets are on stand-by.

With the winter season coming close, the troops face off at 15,000 feet, with temperatures dropping to -30 Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit).

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With the occupation of these six peaks in the eastern region of Ladakh, the Indian Army is now in a good position to monitor the movement Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

It is learnt that Indian Air Force is also flying Rafale fighter jets near the LAC to monitor the activities of the fighter planes of China. Five Rafale fighter aircraft, which were formally deployed at Ambala Air Base on September 10, were recently spotted conducting ‘familiarisation sorties’ in Ladakh.

Keeping in mind the aggressive nature of PLA, the IAF is looking to enhance its combat skills. The IAF has been on high alert following the recent incidents of firing by Chinese troops near the LAC.

Meanwhile senior army commanders of India and China held talks on implementing a five-point agreement reached between the two countries on disengagement of troops and de-escalation of the tense situation in eastern Ladakh.

The sixth round of Corps commander-level talks began on Monday in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) across India’s Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh. The Indian delegation is headed by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps of the Indian Army.

The team also included a joint secretary-level officer from the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) and Lt. Gen PGK Menon, who is expected to succeed Singh as the commander of the 14 Corps next month.

It is for the first time that a senior official from the MEA was part of the high-level military talks aimed at ending the four-month-long border standoff between in India and China.
Maj Gen Liu Lin, the commander of the South Xinjiang military region, is slated to lead the Chinese delegation.

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Mr.Singh also said that India’s timely actions had foiled the attempts to change the status quo in Pangong Tso.

“I would like to assure Parliament that India will not step back from taking any harsh decision and that our forces are in a better position to retaliate,” Rajnath Singh said adding that China has built up war machines and troops near LAC.

During his address, Singh also said that China continues to illegally occupy a large area of Ladakh. “China continues to be in illegal occupation of approx 38,000 sq. kms in the Union Territory of Ladakh. In addition, under the so-called Sino-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq. km. of Indian territory in PoK to China. China also claims approximately 90,000 sq. kms. of Indian territory in the Eastern Sector of the India-China boundary in Arunachal Pradesh. Chinese actions reflect a disregard of our various bilateral agreements,” Singh said.

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India’s 74th Independence Day celebrations were carried out with adherence to COVID-19 protocol.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unfurled the national flag and delivered his seventh consecutive Independence Day speech from the iconic Red Fort.
The Prime Minister also received the Guard of Honour contingent, consisting of one officer and 24 men each from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police. Major Shweta Pandey assisted the Prime Minister in unfurling the National Flag, following which Modi addressed the nation.

Dressed in his customary ‘kurta pyjama’ and safa, the Prime Minister in his nearly 90-minute address, dwelt at length on his Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign and gave a call for reducing imports and pushing exports of finished products in place in place raw material, saying the country will have to move forward with the mantra of ‘Make in India’ as well as ‘Make for World’.

“Recently, we have seen an 18% increase in FDI, a record. This confidence wasn’t born all of a sudden. For this, India has initiated reforms and made policy changes.
Today, along with ‘Make in India’, we must talk of Make For World’.

“The first condition for aatmanirbhar Bharat is aatmavishwas — self-confident India. Economic progress must be coupled with humanity and human concerns. Today the world is interconnected and interdependent. Thus, in keeping with the demand of the times, India too must contribute its bit. For that we must be prosperous and strong. Only then can we contribute meaningfully to the world.”

“The calm displayed by our people at this time has been unprecedented. This calm and harmony is the guarantee of our development. This journey calls for sacrifice. Being ordinary will not do. We have to be the best.

Therefore we must aim at best products, in terms of both human resources and governance. Only then can we achieve our dream of “Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat”.

“We have to resolve to do this for 130 million Indians, our future generations, and for aatmanirbhar Bharat. We will try and reduce imports, go vocal for local, empower our young, women, adivasis, Dalits, and divyaang. 2022, the 75th year of our independence, is upon us. Coronavirus crisis is a big crisis, but is not big enough to stop us in building aatmanirbhar Bharat. Once again, best wishes to all of you on our Independence Day.”

“We value our security as much as harmony. We also connect it to aatmanirbhar India, and has therefore created a negative list of over 100 defence products for import. We have a long coastline and more than 1,300 islands, and we are prioritising the development of certain islands. We have launched optical fibre connectivity in Andaman & Nicobar islands. In the next 1,000 days, we have decided to connect Lakshadweep too in this manner.”

As many as 173 districts are either on the coast or share a border with another country. We will prepare nearly 1 lakh National Cadet Corp youth in these areas, half of whom will be our daughters. The Indian Army and Navy will be involved in their training.
Those who challenge India’s sovereignty, be it LOC or LAC, have been given a befitting reply in their own language: PM Modi
Referring to the Ladakh face-off, Modi said: “Attempts have been made to undermine our territorial integrity from LAC to the LoC, says PM Modi. Whenever that happened, our jawans have replied in the language of the enemy. The whole country is inspired and resolute. What the country and our jawans can do has been seen in Ladakh by the world. I bow to all those jawans from the ramparts of the Red Fort.”

“India has been resolutely dealing with terrorism. The world acknowledges that. 184 of 192 countries voted for India to be part of a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

“India values our partnership with our neighbours with whom we are connected via land and sea. We are committed to deepening our relationships. South Asia has a quarter of the world’s population, and is a repository of possibilities. I call on all intellectuals and people of South Asia to work together for the prosperity of the region.

Today, neighbours are not just those with whom our borders meet but also with those with whom we connect with our hearts. We have worked on the idea of an extended neighbourhood. With West Asia for example, we have increased cooperation especially in the field of energy security. Many of our brothers and sisters live and work in such countries, and the way these countries took care of our people during the coronavirus pandemic is deserving of thanks from us. The ASEAN countries too have much in common in terms of culture and Buddhist practices.
National Digital Health Mission

“Coronavirus has made us think about being self-reliant with regard to health as well.

“When the pandemic hit, we could only do 300 tests a day in the one lab we had. Now we can test nearly 7 lakh cases a day. We are launching a big programme on health today: National Digital Health Mission. This will revolutionise our health systems. Every Indian will be given a health ID which will contain all your information. What disease you suffer from, which doctor has been consulted, what medicines you are on will all be included in your health ID.”

“The major question on everyone’s mind these days is regarding the coronavirus vaccine, “he said.

“Our scientists are labouring in our three vaccine candidates that are at various stages of testing, he says, adding that once the vaccine is ready, they will be produced and distributed to all Indians in the shortest possible time.”

Whenever the women in the country got opportunities, they have taken forward the name of India, “From working in coal mines to flying fighter planes, our daughters are everywhere. India is one of the few countries where women are in combat roles in military. Nearly 70% of mudra loan holders are women.

We are also mindful of their health. In 6,000 Jan Aushadhi kendras, we have distributed 5 crore sanitary pads at ₹1. We will also be reconsidering the marriageable age of women soon.

After three decades, we have brought in the New Education Policy, said Modi, adding that it will connect India’s students to our roots, but will also help them be a global citizen.
“The National Research Foundation too has been set up as research is important for innovation. During coronavirus pandemic, online classes have become common and online transactions have gone up exponentially.

For integrating villages into Digital India, we have decided to accelerate our optical fibre programme, and to extend it to all 6 lakh villages in India. We have decided to do this within the next 1,000 days. In the coming days, our dependence on cyberspace is only likely to grow. There are dangers in this too, and India is mindful of these dangers. As new systems are being put in place, a draft Cyber Security Policy will be put forward.

“Whether it be agriculture, small industry or salaried class, our middle class have taken full advantage of even the smallest of opportunities. Our middle class can create miracles,” Modi said.

If there is ease of living that has to be brought in, it should benefit our middle class. Home loans have become cheaper. GoI made a corpus of ₹25,000 crore fund for completing housing projects that were stuck in a limbo.

GST has rationalised taxation, reforms in MSME sector will also benefit the middle class. Connecting cooperative banks to RBI is also a step in that direction.
The big priority of aatmanirbhar Bharat is aatmanirbhar Krishi, he said.

“We have initiated many reforms with regards to agriculture. Many of you may not know that unlike other manufacturers, the farmers were not free to sell their produce to who they wanted and on their terms. We have freed the farmer to seek his/her own markets,” he said.

“₹1 lakh crore has been allotted for agriculture infrastructure. Additionally, we will be building village-based clusters for agricultural and non-agricultural clusters.”

“Last year, I had announced the Jal Jeevan mission. I can say with pride today that every day we are adding tap-pipe connections to one lakh families. In the last year, we added 2 crore connections.”

“In the last six years, we have initiated many programmes for the welfare of those who labour,” the Prime Minister said.

““DBT, subsidised gas connections, Ayushman Bharat, aawaas Yojana — these have been initiated to help our people in a transparent manner.”

“During the coronavirus pandemic, these measures have helped distribute free rations to 80 crore Indians, and ₹90,000 crores have been transferred to bank accounts of the beneficiaries.”

“Even as we battle the coronavirus pandemic, we have had cyclones, locust attacks, earthquakes, floods etc. But despite this, India did not lose its confidence. To lift the economy from the effect of coronavirus, we have launched the national infrastructure fund and set aside more than one lakh crore to this end.”

“When Atalji [A.B, Vajpayee] was the Prime Minister, he had launched the far-sighted Golden Quadrilateral project. We have to take this forward. We can’t look at infrastructure in silos. It has to be looked at in an integrated manner. Multi-modal infrastructure is the way forward.”

“Even in the space sector, we have made changes for moving ahead. Our progress on space, health, power sector and so benefits our neighbours and the rest of the world. We have to find ways where goods made in India attract praise,” says the Prime Minister in his speech, adding that India has to leverage our human resource to achieve this.
“India’s progress is remarkable. Who thought that one day, welfare funds would be directly sent into bank accounts of the poor, space sector would be opened, Essential Services act would be amended, that there would be ‘One Nation One Tax’ or ‘One Nation, One Ration-card’.”

The Prime Minister wound up his speech with chants of Bharat Mata ki jai, Vande Mataram, Jai Hind!
Earlier, the Prime Minsiter arrived at the Lahore Gate of the Red Fort, where he was received by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar.

The defence secretary introduced the General Officer Commanding (GoC), Delhi Area, Lt Gen Vijay Kumar Mishra to the Prime Minister.

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The legislation on Tuesday came a day after the House unanimously passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), slamming China’s aggression against India in the Galwan Valley and its growing territorial assertiveness in and around disputed areas like the South China Sea.

The troops of India and China are locked in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.

The resolution, sponsored by Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi along with eight others, was passed by the House along with National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the fiscal year 2021 and condemned Chinese aggression towards India along the Line of Actual Control.

Through the passage of today’s bill, the House has sent a clear, bipartisan message that the government of the People’s Republic of China must peacefully de-escalate the situation along the Line of Actual Control with India, Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.

China’s military provocations of India are unacceptable, and the peaceful resolution of their border standoff will help restore greater security to the Indo-Pacific region, he said.

Through this vote, the US House of Representatives has reaffirmed the readiness of the US to stand with its allies and partners like India against Chinese military aggression, Krishnamoorthi said.

Other co-sponsors of the resolution are Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna and lawmakers Frank Pallone, Tom Suozzi, Ted Yoho, George Holding, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Haley Stevens and Steve Chabot.

In the months leading up to June 15, along the Line of Actual Control, the Chinese military reportedly amassed 5,000 soldiers; and is trying to redraw long-standing settled boundaries through the use of force and aggression, the Congressional resolution says.

Noting that India and China have reached an agreement to de-escalate and disengage along the Line of Actual Control, the resolution says that on June 15, at least 20 Indian soldiers and an unconfirmed number of Chinese soldiers were killed in skirmishes following a weeks-long standoff in Eastern Ladakh, which is the de facto border between the two countries.

The Government of the People’s Republic of China should work toward de-escalating the situation along the Line of Actual Control with India through existing diplomatic mechanisms and not through force, it said.

It is the sense of the Congress that there is significant concern about the continued military aggression by China along its border with India and in other parts of the world, including with Bhutan, in the South China Sea, and with the Senkaku Islands, as their aggressive posture towards Hong Kong and Taiwan.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

China has impeded commercial activity such as fishing or mineral exploration by countries like Vietnam and the Philippines.

Ties between China and Japan have been strained by a territorial row over a group of islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China.

A day earlier, the House had passed a similar NDAA amendment moved by Congressman Steve Chabot and Indian-American lawmaker Ami Bera which said that India and China should work towards de-escalating the situation along the LAC and also expressed concern about Chinese aggression in an around disputed territories like the South China Sea.

The resolution comes days after the House of Representatives Caucus on India and Indian-Americans in a letter to India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu said that over the last few months, the Chinese authorities have been acting with impunity and have attempted to transgress on the LAC, which resulted in diplomatic discussions to implement a process for de-escalation along the LAC on July 6.

It was led by Congressmen Holding and Brad Sherman and signed by seven other lawmakers.

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