“Chinese Soldier”, Held After He Strayed Into Ladakh, Handed Back.

Ladakh: A Chinese soldier, who was captured by Indian forces in eastern Ladakh after he wandered across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), was handed back to China on Tuesday night. The soldier, identified as Corporal Wang Ya Long, was held in the Chumar-Demchok area, the army said on Monday. The soldier was questioned by experts before he was passed back to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The army said that the soldier would be returned to the Chinese Army “as per established protocol after following the due procedure”. He was provided medical assistance including oxygen, food, and warm clothes “to protect him from the quirks of extreme altitude and harsh climatic conditions”, the army said in a statement. A request had been received from the Chinese army about the details of the missing soldier, the army added.

The soldier “got lost while helping local herdsmen retrieve a yak”, a Chinese officer said in a statement. “We hope that the Indian side will live up to its promise to hand over the missing Chinese soldier as soon as possible and implement the consensus reached by the two sides in the 7th round of Senior Commanders meeting, to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas,” Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, spokesperson for the Western Theater Command of the PLA, said. Indian and Chinese soldiers have been locked in a standoff at the LAC, or the de-facto border between the countries, in Ladakh since May. Tension peaked in June when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty in a clash with the Chinese at Galway Valley.

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There have been several rounds of military and diplomatic talks between the two sides to settle the standoff but the Chinese have denied sticking to agreements on restoring the status quo.