India-China standoff live updates: LAC clash premeditated, says India’s envoy to US

China said on Tuesday it was concerned about India's decision to ban Chinese mobile apps such as Bytedance's TikTok and Tencent's WeChat and was making checks to verify the situation. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses. Read more

China said on Tuesday it was concerned about India's decision to ban Chinese mobile apps such as Bytedance's TikTok and Tencent's WeChat and was making checks to verify the situation. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses.

Amid ongoing border tension between China and India following the June 15 standoff, the Indian newspapers and websites are not accessible in China. Though Chinese newspapers and websites continue to be accessible in India, people in China can only access the Indian media websites with Virtual Private Network (VPN) server. The Indian TV channels also can be accessed through IP TV as of now. And ExpressVPN has not been working in the Communist state for the past two days on the iPhone as well as desktops. Read more

Corps Commander-level meeting between armies of India and China has started in Chushul on Tuesday, to resolve the ongoing dispute over Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh area, said Indian Army Sources. This is the third round of Corps Commander-level talks being held. The first two rounds had taken place in Moldo on the Chinese side of the LAC. In the second round of Corps Commander-level talks held on June 22, both sides reached a mutual consensus to disengage in the Eastern Ladakh sector, army sources said. Read more

French defence minister Florence Parly yesterday wrote to her Indian counterpart, Shri Rajnath Singh, condoling the death of twenty Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley. Expressing deep sorrow, she wrote, "This was a hard blow against the soldiers, their families, and the nation. In these difficult circumstances, I wish to express my steadfast and friendly support, along with that of the French armed forces. I request you to kindly convey my heartfelt condolences to the entire Indian armed forces as well as to the grieving families." Recalling that India is France's strategic partner in the region, she reiterated her country's deep solidarity. The French Armed Forces Minister also expressed her readiness to meet Shri Rajnath Singh in India, at his invitation, to follow up on their ongoing discussions.

Amid the growing demand to boycott Chinese products in the wake of India-China stand-off, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious programme -- Make in India, saying imports from China after 2014 have actually increased. "Facts don't lie. BJP says: Make in India. BJP does: Buy from China," Rahul Gandhi said in a sharp tweet attaching a graphics of the percentage of imports from China during the UPA rule and the NDA government. The graphics showed that from 2008 to 2014, the imports from China were below 14 per cent, while during the BJP-led NDA rule, the Chinese import increased to over 18 per cent.

Top Army officers from India and China will meet for the third time on Tuesday in a bid to de-escalate border tensions and reduce military build-ups, amidst the continuing stalemate triggered by Chinese troop intrusions into Indian territory in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh. Sources said 14 Corps commander Lt-General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang Military District chief Major General Liu Lin will kick off their meeting at the Chushul-Moldo border personnel meeting (BPM) point around 10.30 am on Tuesday. Read more

The systems of India’s highway authority were hit by a severe ransom ware attack on Sunday resulting in all servers, email and IP phone system, which use internet protocol, going dead for nearly 24 hours. Sources said the virus attack could have compromised the NHAI’s data and information and a detailed diagnosis is being conducted to find out what happened, the source of attack and the consequences. Several officials of the National Highway Authority of India said the system was down till Monday evening and the authority had also alerted the NIC about the problem. Read more

The Centre is looking to license the import of 10-12 items, including air conditioners and several of its components, and parts of television sets, as it discourages the entry of foreign goods into the country, especially those from China. While work on licensing of products had started a few months ago, with agarbatti and tyres being among the initial set of items along with palm oil, the list has been expanded in recent weeks as tension on the border with China has escalated, government sources told TOI. Read full report

Expressing solidarity with the people of India on the Ladakh face-off with China, a top US senator has said India had made it clear that it would not be bullied by Beijing. Republican Senator Marco Rubio spoke with India's ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, to "express our solidarity with the people of #India as they firmly confront unwarranted and lawless armed aggression by the Communist Party of China". Read more

The objections have been made by companies as well as industry associations, which are saying that curbs will hinder operations as many critical parts related to new emissions norms such as BS6 as well as those related to electric vehicles, come from China. Almost all the companies, ranging from Maruti to Hyundai to Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors, will be impacted and so would be two-wheeler makers like Hero Moto. The situation is worse for Chinese companies such as MG Motors that sources petrol engines and many other parts from China, apart for key components for its electric vehicle ZS.

The government has begun consultations at the highest level to decide on the use of 5G technology, which is seen as a precursor to a possible bar on the use of equipment from Chinese companies, such as those sold by Huawei, when India rolls out the high-speed network. Top ministers discussed the issue at a meeting on Monday. The talks came along with the discussion to block 59 Chinese apps, which are facing allegations of snooping on millions of unsuspecting users and illegally transmitting the data to China.

The government is looking to license the import of 10-12 items, including air conditioners and several of its components, and parts of television sets as it discourages the entry of foreign goods into the country, especially those from China. While work on licensing of products had started a few months ago, with agarbatti and tyres being among the initial set of items along with palm oil, the list has expanded in recent weeks as tension on the Ladakh border escalated, government sources told TOI.