DEHRADUN: Indian Army Chief, General Manoj Mukund Naravane said that the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is under control and both India and China are "disengaging" in a phased manner.
He was speaking to journalists after the Passing out Parade at Indian Military Academy in Dehradun.
"Both sides are disengaging in a phased manner. We have started from the north, the area of the Galwan river. A lot of disengagement has happened. We have had a fruitful dialogue with the Chinese, it will continue and the situation will improve," said General Naravane.
This is for the first time, the Army chief has come on record about the India-China standoff at the LAC.
Replying to the queries of the journalists about 'retreat' by the Chinese, he said, "I would not use the word retreat. There is no retreat. The correct word is disengagement."
Speaking on firing by Nepalese policemen on Bihar border which killed one Indian citizen and four injured, the Army chief said, "We have a very strong relationship with Nepal. We have geographical, historical, cultural and religious links withe the Himalayan country. We also have very strong people-to- people contact. Relationship with them has always remained strong and will be the same in future.
General Naravane said the operations in Jammu & Kashmir have been a success. "As far as J&K is concerned and our western neighbour, we have had a lot of successes. In last 10-15 days alone, more than 15 terrorists have been killed. This happened due to very close cooperation and coordination among all the security forces operating in the Union territory."
The Army Chief reviewed the passing out of 423 cadets as Indian Army officers. As many as 90 cadets from nine different countries also passed out from the academy during the occasion.