Describing the disengagement of Chinese and Indian troops at Pangong Tso in Ladakh as “a win-win situation… a very good outcome” where “both sides should feel they have achieved something,” Army chief General MM Naravane Wednesday said “we have our strategies in place” to resolve “some issues that remain such as the area of Depsang… and pending issues in other areas along our northern borders”.
Acknowledging there is a “trust deficit” between the two sides, General Naravane said: “We still have a long way to go. We now have to move on to the stage of de-escalation. And after that, moving back of the troops and the de-induction of the troops which went to the higher reaches… We have to be wary… we will be very cautious… there is a trust deficit… unless that trust deficit is removed, we will, of course, continue to be wary, keep watching whatever movements happen on either side of the LAC. But I think at the end of the day, we have achieved a lot.”
He made these remarks while responding to questions during a webinar organized by the Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF).