BEIJING, Oct 21 (APP): The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier, who went missing while helping local herdsmen find the lost yak near the China-India border on Sunday, has been 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 on Tuesday urged India to honor its commitment to return the soldier.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian has said at a press briefing on Tuesday that 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 7th 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.
But China is always committed to resolving the issue through talks, and hopes that India will work with China to the same goal, Qian said.
We hope that India will implement the consensus reached by senior officials of the two countries, and avoid escalating conflicts China remains unchanged on that, Qian said.
It may be mentioned that China’s State Councilor 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.
