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

Delhi: Shopkeepers in Nehru Place selling computer and mobile phone peripherals say, 'boycotting Chinese products is difficult as there is less manufacturing in India. The government should increase manufacturing here to meet the demand' (ANI)

LAC clash premeditated, says India’s envoy to US

There was a design behind the Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control that led to brutal clashes on June 15, Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Sandhu told a US-based think tank. In an interaction with the Hudson Institute recently, Sandhu said the US and India had a partnership that was destined to move on irrespective of China and the current border situation.

Amid apprehensions of a fall in Chinese investment in India, overall flows added up to just $163 million in 2019-20 and no proposal has been filed since the government decided last April to scan all foreign direct investments (FDIs) from countries with which India shares a border. "We have ourselves decided to keep close tabs on Chinese investment, which was meant to discourage them, especially because of the takeover threat for our companies. Without our permission, they cannot invest a single yuan in India," a government source said.

No Chinese company will be allowed to participate in any future highway project and companies entering into joint venture (JV) with any firm from China will also be banned from bidding for projects, road transport and MSME minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Talking to TOI, the minister said he has approved the policy and also asked highway secretary Girdhar Aramane to revise the bidding norms for projects to enable more Indian companies to participate in the tender process.

The country’s defence establishment is finalising a plan to send a dozen new high-speed interceptor boats armed with the latest surveillance gear to Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh, where Indian and Chinese soldiers have been locked in a fierce confrontation since early May. Sources said the Indian Army does have 17 QRT (quick-reaction team) boats for patrolling the lake located an altitude of 13,900-feet since 2012-2013, but the need has been felt to further augment the force’s capabilities to match the heavier Type-928B patrol boats being used by the People’s Liberation Army there.

China's state-run Global Times said India's move to ban 59 Chinese apps has dealt a severe blow to the confidence of Chinese investors and traders. "Even during the Doklam standoff in 2017, India's economic losses were limited as bilateral trade ties recovered quickly following the crisis. But that doesn't mean the Indian side should underestimate the consequences of an economic war with China," it said.

Two top lawyers in the country on Wednesday said that they will not appear for Chinese video app 'TikTok' in the court against the government of India. Former attorney general and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and senior Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that he will not be representing in courts the Chinese app 'TikTok', which along with 58 others were banned by the Centre on June 29.

The source privy to the development said that a new tender will be floated which will have emphasis on preference to Make in India. The source said that the government had told BSNL not to use Chinese equipment in 4G upgrade, and that implementation of the direction meant that the company had to issue a new tender.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday applauded India's sweeping ban on Chinese apps including TikTok, saying New Delhi was ensuring its own security. "We welcome India's ban on certain mobile apps" from China, Pompeo told reporters, saying the move would "boost India's integrity and national security."

The tender for 800 such cameras was floated by Railway PSU RailTel last month for the AI-based surveillance cameras that measure body temperatures of individuals and even detect whether a person is wearing a mask or not. "We received representation from other vendors that they can also offer the solution. Hence, to have wider participation and competition, we have cancelled the EOI and are going in for open EOI,” the spokesperson said. Sources, however, said the tender was scrapped after many Indian vendors in letters to RailTel raised concerns that the specifications mentioned in the tender favoured Chinese company Hikvision.

"TikTok is an entertainment app. It's an impulsive decision. What's the strategic plan? What about the people who will be unemployed? People will suffer like demonetisation. I don't have any problem with the ban as it is for national security but who will answer these questions," Jahan told reporters

PM Modi had 115 posts on Weibo. It was decided to manually delete them & after much effort 113 posts were removed: Sources

As soon as decision was taken to disallow 59 Chinese apps in India, PM Modi also decided to quit Weibo which he had joined a few years ago: Govt sources

For VIP accounts, Weibo has a more complex procedure to quit which is why the official process was initiated. For reasons best known to the Chinese, there was great delay in granting this basic permission: Sources

Commanders from PLA & Indian Army held a meeting at Chushul, on Indian side, on 30 June 2020