Chinese Soldier Goes For a Walk, and….

And this just in from AP News: China and India are still quarreling over their “boundary” in the area that lies between India proper and Tibet. Most recently, a Chinese soldier was apprehended by Indian troops on that very border. Considering everything, they could probably have made a “citizen” out of him by just offering him some food and a warm place to stay.

https://apnews.com/article/international-news-china-india-asia-013016a61cc4c62be2578981ac16fbe9

Per the article:  SRINAGAR, India (AP) — The Indian army said it apprehended a Chinese soldier Monday in the remote Ladakh region, where the two countries are locked in a monthslong military standoff along their disputed mountain border.

The soldier, Cpl. Wang Ya Long from China’s People’s Liberation Army, was apprehended inside Indian-controlled Ladakh’s Demchok area and was to be released soon, the army said in a statement.

It said the soldier “had strayed” across the de facto border along the eastern section of what’s known as the Line of Actual Control, a loose demarcation separating Indian- and Chinese-controlled areas.

“As per established protocols, he will be returned back to Chinese officials at the Chushul–Moldo meeting point after completion of formalities,” the statement said. – article

China claimed all of Tibet for itself a while back, without asking if the Tibetans were interested in being part of that amoeboid land grab. There was s a thriving tourist trade in Tibet, involving people who want to climb Mt. Everest and get their photo taken up at the ‘roof of the world’, at the same time, leaving trash everywhere. It’s probably shut down now because of the Covid-19 bug.  The land mass of the Indian continent has been pushing against China’s Asian property for somewhere between 35 million and 50 million years ago, which is how the Himalayas got their height. Two giant land masses pushing against each other do create interesting side effects. And that remote disputed border? Eventually, it will get folded under by another massive quake, and India may claim more turf.

But this fellow from China was likely either looking for an escape route or got lost in the clouds of the Himalayas. And most of that area up there has trails instead of real roads. If he went for a walk and got lost, he might be better off if he’d stay lost. I do not think the Chinese Army treats its lost recruits quite as nicely as we do.

Category: China