India returns Chinese soldier lost in Ladakh border area

BEIJING: A soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), who went missing while helping local herdsmen find a lost yak near the China-India border on Sunday, was returned to the Chinese border troops by the Indian army early Wednesday morning, according to a statement of PLA.

The move came after China’s foreign ministry urged India on Tuesday to honour its commitment to return the soldier.

Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian had said: “China hopes India hands over the soldier as soon as possible and works with China to promote the implementation of the consensus reached at the seventh round of talks”.

While commenting on the latest development, Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, said it will take a long time to develop mutual trust between China and India.

“The moves by India show they are trying to increase bargaining power and initiative in talks through tricks of being tougher,” he told Global Times. “China is capable of responding to India’s moves in the diplomatic, military, economic, security and other fields,” Qian said, adding: “But China is always committed to resolving the issue through talks, and hopes that India will work with China to the same goal.”

It may be mentioned here that China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in September in Moscow, and issued a joint statement and five-point consensus, which said differences should not lead to conflicts.