China has urged quick return of its soldier nabbed by the Indian Army in Ladakh and said he strayed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) due to “darkness” and tough terrain. The Indian Army said he was apprehended after transgressing the LAC in the south of Pangong Tso (lake) region near the Gurung hill in Chushul on Friday morning and his questioning was on.

China Military Online, a news portal run by the People Liberation Army (PLA), said on Saturday the Chinese soldier went astray “due to darkness and complicated geography”.

It also said the PLA notified the Indian side about it the first time, hoping the Indian side could assist in search and rescue of the lost Chinese soldier. It said India confirmed the capture of the Chinese soldier nearly two hours after he went missing. The news portal said India also said the Chinese soldier would be returned to China after “receiving instructions from the superior authority”.

The news portal said India should “promptly transfer” the soldier back to China and “jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border area”.

The Indian Army said the Chinese soldier was “being dealt with as per laid down procedures”. It said the circumstances under which the Chinese soldier had crossed the LAC were being probed. A stand-off is on there for the last nine months.

Incidentally, this is the second such incident since October last year. Identified as Corporal Wang Ya Long, he was apprehended in Demchok area on October 19 and was later handed over to the PLA. This area is also sensitive as armies from both sides are deployed in large numbers there since the stand-off began in May. The soldier was returned to the PLA the next day at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point, where senior commanders from both armies have held eight rounds of talks to break the continuing logjam at the border.

“The PLA soldier was apparently moving from one location to another on the Chinese side of the LAC when he lost his way.

“He was carrying a sleeping bag, a storage device, his military identity card, and mobile with a charger. He was released after a thorough interrogation and completion of the necessary formalities,” officials had said then.

As regards the latest incident, the Army also said troops from either side are deployed along the LAC since friction erupted last year due to unprecedented mobilisation and forward concentration by Chinese troops.

India and China have a 1,700 km long LAC in Ladakh sector and most of it is now heavily guarded by both sides. More than one lakh troops of both the armies are facing each other besides tanks and heavy artillery guns also amassed in operational areas close by.

This has led to more tension and several rounds of military and diplomatic level talks have so far failed to reduce friction leading to disengagement and de-escalation.

Incidentally, in a pre-emptive move on August 29 and 30 last year, the Army occupied some unoccupied heights in the Chushul sector from Thakung to Rechin La within the Indian perception of the LAC foiling the PLA attempts to dominate the heights and change the status quo. 

The Indian troops also occupied heights in the south of Pangong Tso thereby putting the Chinese at a disadvantage there.  Moreover, the Indian troops have also strengthened their positions on the north bank of the Pangong lake in last few months.  The lake is one of the points where the face-offs began in May last year.  The Indian and Chinese patrols came to blows there.

As the Ladakh sector remains tense, India has consistently pushed for comprehensive disengagement at all flashpoints and restoration of status quo ante of early April during the ongoing military talks.  The Chinese insist the Indian Army first pulled back its troops deployed on strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong Tso.

With no solution in sight at the moment, India is not willing to take any chances and is prepared for long haul.  Additional troops trained in mountain warfare are now stationed in Ladakh.

In an effort to enable the soldiers to withstand harsh winter there with temperature dipping to minus 20 to 30 degrees, the army has ensured enough winter clothing besides prefabricated huts.

The Defence Ministry recently said the Army has complete Advance Winter Stocking (AWS) and winter preparations and troops are “well-entrenched to counter any misadventure by Chinese forces.”