New Delhi: A Chinese soldier of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was on Monday captured near Demchok area of eastern Ladakh. The capture comes amid continuous talks of disengagement and de-escalation after a more than six-month-long standoff between India and China.
The soldier is being questioned by the Indian Army to establish whether he was on an espionage mission.
The PLA soldier, however, told Indian agencies that he had crossed the disputed border to retrieve a yak that had strayed into Indian territory. He is most likely to be returned after a meeting of local sector commanders.
India and China have amassed thousands of soldiers, tanks and missiles in the worst ever border crisis in four decades. Multiple rounds of talks between senior military commanders and diplomats and ministers have failed to resolve the crisis.
Winters have reached the Himalayas and soldiers now face the prospect of braving temperate 30 degrees below zero Celsius.