The Indian Army apprehended a Chinese soldier on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) south of Pangong Lake in Ladakh. A soldier from the People's Liberation Army, whose identity is yet to be known, was captured during the early hours of Friday.
This is the second incident where a Chinese soldier was caught by the Indian forces in the last three months. In October, a Chinese soldier, identified as Corporal Wang Ya Long, was caught from the Demchok sector in Eastern Ladakh. He was later handed back to Chinese military.
Explaining about Friday's incident, a military source said, "The PLA soldier had transgressed across the LAC and was taken into custody by Indian troops deployed in this area."
Troops from either side are deployed along the LAC since friction erupted in May last year due to unprecedented mobilisation and forward concentration by Chinese troops on multiple locations along the Eastern Ladakh sector.
"The PLA soldier is being dealt with as per laid down procedures and circumstances under which he had crossed the LAC are being investigated," an officer said while adding that further details are awaited.
Since early last year, both sides have amassed huge number of troops and equipment along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. In order to defuse the tension, military commanders of two sides have already met eight times, but the talks remained inconclusive.
But since November 6 when the last round of military-level talks were held between India and China, there is no forward movement on deciding the date for conducting the next round of talks. On December 18, India and China held 20th meeting of Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs, where they had agreed that 9th round of Senior Commanders meeting should be held at an early date so that both sides can work towards early and complete disengagement of troops along LAC.
Military strategists believe that China is getting jittery as it is not on the upper side when it comes to having tactical gains. The Indian military have occupied some strategic heights—Magar Hill, Gurung Hill, Gorkha Hill and Reqin La, and are within their side of the LAC—under Operation Snow Leopard in August last year.
The Indian side has made it clear to their Chinese counterparts to withdraw their tanks and heavy artillery guns from depth areas, as the PLA was the aggressor in the entire episode.
