CDS On Why Nehru Wanted Panchsheel Agreement With China

Dehradun, Uttarakhand: Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan says, "On independence, the British left, and it was for India actually to decide where a front is. Nehru probably knew that we had something, as the McMahon Line was in the east, and we had some kind of a claim in the Ladakh area, but it was not here. So that's why he wanted to go in for a Panchsheel agreement, and for the Chinese also. When they had kind of liberated Tibet, they had moved into Lhasa... This particular area was extreme at both ends. So they wanted stability, probably in this particular region... Independent India was keen to build a good relationship with China... In 1954, India recognised Tibet as part of China. Both countries signed the Panchsheel Agreement..."