India releases Chinese soldier who crossed border ‘while looking for lost yak’

A banner erected by the Indian army stands near Pangong Tso lake near the India-China border 

Credit: AP

India has released a Chinese soldier its military had detained near the remote, mountainous border it shares with China, a sign that tensions are subsiding after deadly skirmishes over the summer threatened to tip into a bigger conflict. 

The soldier, identified by the Indian army as Corporal Wang Ya Long, was returned to China on Wednesday morning, according to Chinese state media. He had inadvertently crossed over the border to India on Sunday while helping local herdsmen search for lost yak, according to China’s foreign ministry. 

China has not provided further details on the incident or clarified how the soldier was separated from other troops. 

India and China have stationed tens of thousands of soldiers and sent hoards of equipment including tanks, artillery and fighter jets, hunkering down for difficult winter conditions along the high-altitude disputed border region. 

Tensions have simmered for decades over the frontier, peaking in June when Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat with clubs and stones. India reported 20 casualties; China is also believed to have lost soldiers, but has not disclosed details. 

Following the bloody brawls, China detained at least 10 Indian soldiers who were returned three days later after intense military and diplomatic negotiations. 

Then, in early September, Indian and Chinese officials accused each other of firing warning shots, breaking a longstanding agreement not to use firearms along the disputed border. 

Both Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping also used the border conflicts to stir up nationalist fervour, making it difficult for either side to back down. 

But in efforts to deescalate tensions, officials from both sides began meeting for talks that for now seem to have put a pin in further violence. Chinese state media on Wednesday said India’s return of the Chinese soldier was “a positive sign” ahead of an eighth round of talks scheduled for this week. 

Before returning the Chinese soldier, the Indian army said he had “been provided medical assistance including oxygen, food and warm clothes to protect him from the vagaries of extreme altitude and harsh climatic conditions.”