Long way to go for LAC de-escalation: Naravane
General Naravane terms disengagement ‘win-win situation’ for both India and China
NEW DELHI: Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Wednesday said that the ongoing disengagement process with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh was a “win-win situation” for both sides, but there was “still a long way to go” before de-escalation of conflict in the theatre and eventual de-induction of rival soldiers can be achieved through talks.
“The talks have had a good outcome. Disengagement is a very good end result,” the army chief said, responding to a spate of questions on the border standoff.
Naravane acknowledged that some issues, including some friction points, remained but strategies were in place to resolve those matters. “We have leverage for negotiating favourable outcomes in future talks, but I would not like to mention those strategies,” he said.
NEW DELHI: Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Wednesday said that the ongoing disengagement process with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) along the Line of actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh was a “win-win situation” for both sides, but there was “still a long way to go” before de-escalation of conflict in the theatre and eventual de-induction of rival soldiers can be achieved through talks.
“For any agreement to last, both sides should feel they have achieved something. The talks have had a good outcome. Disengagement is a very good end result,” the army chief said, responding to a spate of questions on the border standoff after he delivered a talk on the Role of Indian Army in Dealing with National Security Challenges.
Vivekananda International Foundation organised the talk.
Naravane’s comments came four days after Indian and Chinese generals held talks in eastern Ladakh and agreed to resolve outstanding issues at friction points on the LAC in a “steady and orderly” manner and were unanimous that last week’s Pangong Tso disengagement provided “a good basis” for resolving pending problems.
Naravane acknowledged that some issues, including Depsang, remained but strategies were in place to resolve those matters. “We have leverage for negotiating favourable outcomes in future talks, but I would not like to mention those strategies.”
Outstanding problems with
PLA at Depsang, Hot Springs and Gogra — friction points on the LAC — were discussed during the 10th round of talks between corps commanderranked officers of the two sides on February 20.
Naravane said the army was progressing cautiously because of the trust deficit with PLA. “Until that trust deficit is removed, we will be wary about the developments there…but at the end of the day, we have achieved a lot,” he said.
The army is right to be cautious keeping in view what happened last year along the LAC, in particular at Galwan, and the fact that problems remain at Gogra, Hot Springs, Demchok and Depsang, said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd).
“It’s good to hear that there are strategies to resolve the remaining areas. But their success
will depend on how far we are able to restore status quo ante. That should be the ultimate objective,” Hooda added.
The army chief said China understood that its salami-slicing strategy won’t work with India. Salami slicing refers to a string of small, clandestine actions meant to achieve a larger goal that would be difficult to accomplish in one go.
“China is in the habit of making small incremental moves to achieve its goals. Each such move may not be individually noticeable. It (China) has made use of the strategy to make gains in South China Sea without firing a shot or without loss of life. We have shown them this strategy will not work with us and every move will be met resolutely,” the army chief said.
Asked what steps were being taken to ensure that PLA does not reoccupy strategic heights
on the south bank of Pangong Tso, the army chief said systems were in place to make sure that there is no recapturing of heights and the disengagement process – like previous border agreements – are premised on the fact that the pacts will be observed in letter and spirit. “We will trust but we will also verify.”
Referring to the political, diplomatic and military engagement with China to resolve the standoff, he said the “whole of government approach” worked well and helped India chalk out its response to the developments on the border. “Whatever has panned out is the result of this approach and what we have achieved so far is very good,” he said. Naravane said National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s advice was very useful in chalking out response to developments in the Ladakh sector.
The proposals discussed during the February 20 talks to normalise the border situation have been put up by both sides before their higher authorities in order to finalise the future course of disengagement. The talks took place after the completion of the first round of disengagement in the Pangong Tso sector.
PLA’S deployments in Depsang have hindered access of Indian soldiers to Patrolling Points (PP) 10, 11, 11-A, 12 and 13, as previously reported by Hindustan Times. The Indian army’s patrolling activity has also been affected in Gogra and Hot Springs, where rival troops are forward-deployed and where skeletal disengagement took place last year, but the gains could not be consolidated.
The border standoff began last May and saw both sides deploy 50,000 troops each in the Ladakh theatre.
The Pangong disengagement took place on strategic heights on both banks of the lake, and saw the two armies pull back their front-line troops, tanks, infantry combat vehicles and artillery guns under an agreement reached earlier this month.
The disengagement will be phased, coordinated and verified at all friction points. The first round of disengagement at Pangong Tso involved pulling back troops deployed eyeball-toeyeball on the Finger 4 ridgeline as well as withdrawing soldiers holding positions on the Kailash range on the south bank. Under the agreement, neither side will patrol the contested areas between Fingers 4 and 8 until an agreement is reached through future talks.
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu’s ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), its expelled leader VK Sasikala and breakaway faction Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) staked their claims to the legacy of J Jayalalithaa on Wednesday, the 73rd birth anniversary of the late chief minister, ahead of assembly elections .
Chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam led the homage at the AIADMK headquarters and at Jayalalithaa’s mausoleum. Sasikala and her nephew and AMMK founder TTV Dhinakaran held a modest event at her residence.
“My intention is that all of us have to be united to be victorious and govern again,” Sasikala said after garlanding Jayalalithaa’s portrait in her first public appearance after she returned to Chennai from Bengaluru following her release from a four-year prison sentence and discharge from a hospital where she was teated for Covid-19.
AIADMK leaders have disowned Sasikala and vowed not to take her back into the party’s fold, but she still identify herself as the party’s general secretary.
Sasikala recalled Jayalalithaa’s statement that the AIADMK would rule Tamil Nadu for 100 years. Palaniswami had also rallied his party cadre using the same statement in January when he inaugurated a temple for Jayalalithaa and her predecessor and party founder MG Ramachandran (MGR).
Sasikala returned from Bengaluru prison to Chennai on February 8 after a roadshow that lasted 23 hours during which she sought to position herself as the true heir of Jayalalithaa, whose death in 2016 triggered a power struggle in the AIADMK. Palaniswami was her candidate for CM, but he subsequently distanced himself from her.
Her nephew Dhinakaran launched the AMMK in 2018 with Sasikala supporters.
Although Sasikala has never contested an election or campaigned in one, she is no political greenhorn, having lived with Jayalalithaa for three decades as her confidante. During this time, Sasikala cultivated her own constituency as a powerful behindthe-scenes operator.
Following Jayalalithaa’s death, Sasikala was chosen AIADMK’S interim general secretary but her chief ministerial aspirations were cut short when she was convicted in a disproportionate
assets case in February 2017. Palaniswami and Panneersevlam united their warring factions and have since jointly held control of the party and government. The AIADMK expelled Sasikala and Dhinakaran in September 2017.
On Wednesday, Sasikala received a stream of visitors including S Seeman, founder of Tamil nationalist party, Naam Tamilar Katchi, and actor-politician R Sarathkumar, leader of the Samathuva Makkal Katchi.
“We had been with the AIADMK for 10 years and whenever we met Jayalalithaa, she (Sasikala) was always there,” Sarathkumar said.
“Though these are smaller parties, Sasikala meeting them on Jayalalithaa’s birth anniversary is a political message that she is serious about her entry into politics,” said a commentator on Dravidian politics, Durai Karunanidhi.
Sasikala’s legal team has approached a civil court in Chennai for early listing of her case challenging the AIADMK general council meeting that expelled her. The case will come up on March 15.
Sasikala’s team formed a Whatsapp group for journalists on Wednesday and released a statement with the AIADMK
flag, addressing her as the general secretary. Dhinakaran has said that AMMK was formed for Sasikala to reclaim the AIADMK and merge rival factions.
On Wednesday, Dhinakaran told reporters that AMMK will make electoral decisions on Thursday. When asked if Sasikala wanted a merger of the AIADMK and AMMK, he said: “You have to ask her.”
The AIADMK, which has changed vastly during Sasikala’s four-year imprisonment, has rejected notions of a merger. The present leadership wouldn’t risk being sidelined by bringing her into its fold, observers say.
The AIADMK has also attempted to leverage public sentiment that is perceived to have turned against Sasikala.
“Whatever she says is meant for AMMK cadre, not us,” AIADMK spokesperson D Jayakumar told reporters. In Thanjavur district a skirmish took place between AIADMK and AMMK workers over raising their respective party flags at Jayalalithaa’s statue on Wednesday.
“Dhinakaran has taken an anti-palaniswami and anti-modi stand but wants a merger. This may not be solved unless the BJP ...brokers a compromise but that seems unlikely,” said political analyst Ravindran Duraisamy.