India on Wednesday released a Chinese soldier its forces had detained along the disputed mountainous border with China last weekend, signaling an easing of months of tensions that at times this summer had threatened to descend into a broader conflict. The soldier, a corporal who has not been publicly identified, inadvertently crossed the border while helping local herdsmen search for missing yaks, according to the news agency of the People’s Liberation Army, which reported his return on Wednesday morning. The statement offered no new details about the circumstances of his disappearance, including why he would have wandered off unaccompanied by other troops. He was the first Chinese soldier detained by the Indian military since tensions escalated this year. Indian forces have surged to the frontier following a series of incursions by China that began in April into mountainous terrain that India claims as its own, escalating a border dispute that has simmered for decades.

Source: New York Times October 21, 2020 01:24 UTC