BEIJING: China on Monday said India had returned a Chinese soldier arrested for allegedly straying into the Himalayan border, a remote area between the two countries.
The soldier was captured on Friday on the high-altitude border with India, where rival troops had fought deadly battles in June last year. According to the People’s Liberation Army Daily, he was returned to the Chinese army on Monday afternoon.
The military newspaper said that the military has lost its way due to the darkness and complex region. The PLA Daily said the soldier was “handed over in accordance with the relevant agreement between China and India.”
The Indian military later confirmed that it had returned the man. The soldier’s detention was second only to the high altitude after 20 Indian border guards and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers were killed in a violent clash last year.
In the Ladakh region, both sides are currently deploying tens of thousands of troops and heavy weapons in the region, which is currently in the grip of freezing winter temperatures. In October, another Chinese soldier was briefly captured by Indian forces in the same area.
India and China have been at loggerheads for seven decades and fought a brief war in 1962. Both sides of the current issue are blaming each other. Neighboring countries have held several talks about secession, but have failed to facilitate military construction.
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