Naravane: Disengagement win-win situation for both

The disengagement of armies of India and China from north and south banks of Pangong Tso is a "very good end result" and a winwin situation for both the sides, Army Chief Gen M M Naravane said on Wednesday, stressing there are strategies in place to address other pending issues in eastern Ladakh.

He said there were no signs of an "overt collusion" between China and Pakistan during the Ladakh standoff but India also caters to a long-term strategy for not a two, but a two-and-half front war. With the half front, he was referring to the internal security. Right from the beginning of the standoff, all sides on the Indian side worked together.

Be it at the political level, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to their Chinese counterparts, he said. "We were all in it together. We had our plan chalked out which we had discussed on what should be the way forward. Whatever has panned out, has happened as a result of that. What we have achieved so far is very good," Naravane said at a webinar organised by Vivekanada International Foundation.

In his first comment on the military coup in Myanmar, Naravane asserted India wants a "stable" Myanmar. During a virtual conference on the role of the Indian Army in dealing with the contemporary national security challenges, Naravane said Myanmar is the bridge between India and the rest of South Asian countries.