China on Saturday demanded the immediate return of his soldier who “went astray” in the India-China border area and was apprehended by the Indian Army at the southern bank of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh on Friday, reported PTI.

The soldier was apprehended by the Army after he transgressed across the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Indian officials said on Saturday.

Notably, the capture of the soldier comes amid a massive deployment of troops by the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh as border standoff remains tense between the two sides since May last year.

In Beijing, the Chinese military confirmed that one of its soldiers “went astray” along the China-India border areas.

“Due to darkness and complicated geography, a soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army frontier defence force went astray in the China-India border early Friday morning,” China military online, an official website of the PLA said.

“The PLA frontier defence force notified the Indian side of the information the first time, hoping the Indian side could assist in search and rescue of the lost Chinese soldier,” it said.

“Nearly two hours later, the response from the Indian side came, confirming that the missing soldier had been found and would be returned to the Chinese side after receiving instructions from the superior authority,” it said.

The Chinese website said that the Indian side should “strictly adhere to relevant agreements” adding that Indian Army should waste no time to return its lost soldier.

“The PLA soldier is being dealt with as per laid down procedures and circumstances under which he had crossed the LAC are being investigated,” the Indian Army said on Saturday.

On October 19 last year, Indian troops had captured a Chinese soldier after he “strayed” across the LAC in the Demchok sector of Ladakh. He was handed back to China following laid down protocols.