Indian forces apprehend intruding Chinese soldier; China demands his release

New Delhi: – A Chinese soldier intruding through the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh has been detained by the Indian Army. The Chinese soldier intruded through the LAC on the south of the Pangong Lake region. China has confirmed the report that one of its soldiers has been detained by India. The Chinese Army has demanded that India should release the soldier immediately. The Chinese Army is also appealing that India should be careful that the border dispute does not fester due to the incident. But the Indian military has said that the information is being collected as to the circumstances, under which the soldier intruded into India. The Indian Army said that the soldier would be handed over to China once the due procedures are completed.

Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) statement says that the soldier lost his way due to darkness and adverse weather conditions and he is currently under detention by the Indian Army. The PLA statement also says that India should immediately release the soldier and cooperate to reduce the LAC tension. At the same time, China is criticising that the Indian media are unnecessarily giving importance to the incident. A Chinese analyst said that the soldiers from both countries enter the other country’s territory; there is nothing special about this incident.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army clarified that the Chinese soldier would be released once the due processes are completed. The Indian Army said that information would be collected regarding the circumstances under which the soldier crossed the LAC, the soldier will be released only after that. Earlier, in October, another Chinese soldier had been detained by the Indian Army, in the Demchok region. After two days of thorough interrogation, the soldier was handed back to China.

Against the background of the tension prevailing on the LAC, the intrusion by Chinese soldiers is not an ordinary event. The Indian Army seems to be extremely alert on this front. 9th round of talks will soon be held between senior military officials from India and China. The Indian foreign ministry clarified that military officials from both countries have maintained constant contact to avoid sparking of a conflict through misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, the criticism made by the PLA regarding the publicity given by the Indian media, to the report regarding the Chinese soldier draws attention. Even in the past, China had accused that the Indian media are responsible for further aggravating the border dispute. The condition of the Chinese military has become perilous due to adverse weather conditions. The Chinese restlessness increased further after these reports were published in the Indian media. China is claiming that the Chinese soldiers are coping very well with the weather conditions in Ladakh, the international media have refused to accept the Chinese claim that its soldiers are fine in the Ladakh weather conditions. Instead, as per the international media, the Indian Army is dominating the LAC in Ladakh sector. Therefore, China is consistently targeting the Indian media.