The Indian Army said on Monday that it has handed back the Chinese soldier, who was apprehended after he crossed the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, reported The Indian Express. India and China have been involved in a military standoff in the region since May.

The soldier was returned at the Chushul-Moldo meeting point at 10.10 am, ANI reported.

On January 9, China had called for the immediate return of the soldier who had gone “astray” at the border areas. “Due to darkness and complicated geography, a soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army frontier defence force went astray in the China-India border early Friday morning,” China military online, an official website of the People’s Liberation Army, China’s armed forces, said.

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On January 8, the Indian Army had in a statement reported about apprehending the Chinese soldier and said that it was following established protocols.

In a similar incident in October 2020, a Chinese soldier identified as Wang Ya Long was caught by Indian forces in eastern Ladakh after he “strayed” across the LAC. He was handed back to to Beijing at the Chushul Moldo meeting point in Ladakh.

Tensions between Indian and China have run high since June when initial scuffles between both sides led to a pitched battle – without firearms – and saw 20 Indian soldiers killed. China is also believed to have suffered casualties, but has not given any details. Both India and China have accused each other of crossing into rival territory and of firing shots for the first time in 45 years.

With eight rounds of Corps Commander-level talks failing to resolve the standoff, both countries have deployed troops and tanks in sub-zero conditions. India has constantly maintained that the onus is on China to carry forward the process of disengagement and de-escalation at the friction points in the mountainous region.