An Army official said there is an “established protocol and due process” that is followed in such cases, although the spying angle has been practically ruled out. “The Chinese soldier, Corporal Wang Ya Long, is doing well after receiving medical assistance. He is also being questioned by Chinese language experts, ”he said.
“It will be handed over to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at the Chushul-Moldo border point after the formalities are completed, according to the protocol,” he added.
Hours earlier, the spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing said Wang was helping local herders find their yaks when he disappeared in the process.
“The Indian side promised support and said they will return the soldier in time after medical checks. We hope that the Indian side will fulfill its commitment and return the soldier as soon as possible, ”the spokesman said.
As TOI reported on Monday, the PLA soldier, who had his identity card in his pocket and belongs to the city of Shangxizhen in China’s central Zhejiang province, was disoriented when he was detained by Indian troops in the Demchok sector.
The incident comes at a time when the eighth round of corps commander-level talks between India and China will take place later this week. There was no tangible progress to resolve the confrontation during the seventh round on October 12, although the PLA presented “a new set of proposals for mutual separation.”
India has remained steadfast in its position of “complete de-escalation” in the places of confrontation of troops, as well as throughout the entire LACQUER in eastern Ladakh, with the PLA initiating the withdrawal according to the “first in, first out” principle.
India had also rejected China’s demand that its troops first vacate the tactical heights they pre-emptively occupied on the ridge line stretching from Thakung on the south bank of Pangong Tso to Gurung Hill, Spanggur Gap, Magar Hill, Mukhpari, Rezang La and Reqin La (Rechin mountain pass) from August 29 to 30.
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