LAC stand-off: Another round of Major General-level talks between India and China today after 10 Indian soldiers released

New Delhi: Ten Indian soldiers, including four officers, held captive by the People’s Liberation Army since the June 15 bloody skirmish between the rival troops in Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh were finally released on Thursday evening.
The 10 soldiers, including two majors and two captains, were released after three days of hectic negotiations between Leh-based 3 Infantry Division commander Major General Abhijit Bapat and his PLA counterpart near “patrolling point-14 (PP-14)” in the Galwan Valley region.
“The soldiers, who were not mistreated, walked over to our side. Found to be fine after a medical examination, they are now being debriefed,” said a source.

The 10 soldiers were taken captive during the prolonged bloody skirmish that erupted after the numerically-superior PLA soldiers, armed with nail-studded iron rods and stones, attacked a team led by Colonel B Santosh near PP-14 on June 15. Col Babu, the commanding officer of 16 Bihar, and 19 other jawans were killed in the clash, while another 76 were injured.
TOI had taken an editorial call to not report about the 10 Indian soldiers in PLA’s captivity before they safely returned to their unit. With the Indian soldiers being released on Thursday evening, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian in Beijing on Friday said, “China has not presently seized any Indian personnel.”

The last time the PLA had captured Indian soldiers was during the 1962 war. The skirmish last Monday was also the first time in 45 years that India suffered fatal casualties along the Line of Actual Control with China.
The brutal clash had erupted when PLA soldiers, who after initially pulling back a little in consonance with the de-escalation plan finalized by the rival commanders, returned to erect a “temporary post” in the shape of tents near PP-14.
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Col Babu and two other soldiers died on the spot after being attacked by PLA soldiers, while the 17 other jawans later succumbed to their injuries. Eighteen more soldiers with serious injuries are currently admitted in the military hospital at Leh, while 58 sustained minor injuries in the clash.
China has kept silent about the number of its own casualties. But radio intercepts and other intelligence indicate that there were 43 “casualties” in the PLA ranks, which included both the dead and grievously injured. Two PLA officers are said to be among the dead in the Chinese ranks, as reported earlier.
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