Three days after clashes in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh left 20 Indian soldiers dead, the Chinese on Thursday evening released 10 Indian Army personnel, including a Lieutenant Colonel and three Majors, from their custody.
A security source told The Hindu that all 10 persons were released around 5 p.m. after an agreement was reached at the Major General-level talks on Wednesday evening and they were returned unharmed.
Ladakh face-off | China’s People’s Liberation Army planned attack in Galwan for at least two days, says senior government official
Separately, the Army clarified in a statement that there were “no Indian troops missing in action”.
‘Soldiers were armed’
In another development, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the Indian troops, who were outnumbered and attacked by the Chinese side, carried arms.
“All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post. Those at Galwan on June 15 did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs,” Dr. Jaishankar said on Twitter, in response to a tweet from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Article VI of the 1996 agreement between India and China on “Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) in the military field along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas” says,