IN A second such incident in nearly three months, a Chinese soldier was apprehended by the Indian Army at the southern bank of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh on Friday morning after he transgressed across the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), official sources said on Saturday.

 

The capture of the soldier comes amid a massive deployment of troops by the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh in view of the tense border standoff that erupted following a clash between the two sides in the Pangong lake area in early May. The PLA soldier had transgressed into Indian side of the LAC and was taken into custody by Indian troops deployed in the area, the sources said. The Chinese soldier is being dealt with as per laid down procedures and the circumstances under which he had crossed the LAC are being investigated, they added.

 

“The PLA soldier had transgressed across the LAC and was taken into custody by Indian troops deployed in this area. Troops from either side are deployed along the LAC since friction erupted last year due to unprecedented mobilisation and forward concentration by Chinese troops,” said a source. Indian troops had captured Corporal Wang Ya Long of the PLA on October 19 last year after he “strayed” across the LAC in the Demchok sector of Ladakh. The corporal was handed back to China at Chushul-Moldo border point in eastern Ladakh following laid down protocols. Nearly 50,000 troops of Indian Army are currently deployed in a high state of combat readiness in various mountainous locations in eastern Ladakh in sub-zero temperatures as multiple rounds of talks between the two sides have not yielded concrete outcome to resolve stand-off.