India-China row live updates: 'India, China troops to move back by 1-1.5 km from friction points'

Union IT and telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said India is an "important digital power" and will not compromise on its data sovereignty.

Amid tensions with China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is carrying out night time combat air patrols over the Eastern Ladakh sector.

A day after India and China started de-escalation at the border, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asked the government why status quo ante was not insisted upon by New Delhi and why the territorial sovereignty of the Galwan Valley does not find mention in the government's statement. "National interest is paramount. Government of India's duty is to protect it," he said on Twitter. "Then, Why has Status Quo Ante not been insisted on? Why is China allowed to justify the murder of 20 unarmed jawans in our territory? Why is there no mention of the territorial sovereignty of Galwan valley?," he asked. Gandhi shared the statements put out by the Indian and Chinese Foreign Ministries after the talks between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

The United States is flexing its military muscle at China on behalf of India and other Asian allies and partners, amid signs that Washington is finally ready to take some punitive action against Beijing for its role in spreading the coronavirus pandemic around the globe. In the clearest sign yet that the Trump White House will not back down from its position as a pre-eminent power in the Pacific and beyond, Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows told Fox News on Monday that the US military "will continue to stand strong whether it's in relationship to a conflict between India and China or anywhere else." Read more

In what marks a breakthrough after several rounds of military and diplomatic talks, India and China have kicked off step-wise disengagement from the twomonth-long confrontation in Galwan Valley and GograHot Springs areas of eastern Ladakh, with People’s Liberation Army soldiers also moving back slightly from the seemingly intractable face-off site at Pangong Tso. Chinese soldiers “have removed some tents and seem to be pulling back” towards ‘Finger-5’ (fingers are mountainous spurs) from ‘Finger-4’ on the north bank of Pangong lake, in accordance with Phase-I of the de-escalation plan thrashed out between the rival corps commanders on June 30, top government sources told TOI on Monday. Read more

The breakthrough in India’s attempts to get Beijing to pull back its troops in Galwan Valley came after two hours of tense negotiations between National Security Advisor A K Doval and China’s state councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi. Sources said what MEA called a “frank and in-depth interaction” was marked by sharp exchanges before the two sides settled for an understanding, which will require the PLA to reduce its presence, pull back and bring down the structures it had raised during the stand-off. Doval and Wang, special representatives for border talks, have known each other for some time and this helped them focus on the nub of the matter straightaway. Read more

As India and China remained locked in a standoff in eastern Ladakh, the government fielded a number of calls and conversations from different countries offering support, and this helped the Modi government put forward its perspective on the confrontation in the high Himalayas. Foreign minister S Jaishankar spoke to counterparts from the US, the UK, France, Germany, Indonesia, Australia, Canada and Japan among others, delivering what the government believes are reasonable results. Read more

A detailed twohour discussion at the level of ‘special representatives’ between NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese state councillor Wang Yi saw finalisation of the elements of disengagement and de-escalation in eastern Ladakh and along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that began to play out on the ground on Monday. In similar statements, India and China essentially reaffirmed that the disengagement agreed to in three rounds of talks between military commanders, as well as the June 17 conversation between foreign minister S Jaishankar and Wang, will be implemented. Read more