Amidst the ongoing border stand-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army provided food, warm clothes, and medical assistance to three citizens of China, who had lost their way, in a border area of North Sikkim, said the army officials.

The Indian Army helped the three Chinese citizens, including a woman, on Wednesday, reach the Chinese side.

“Realising danger to the lives of the Chinese citizens in sub-zero temperatures, the soldiers of Indian Army immediately reached out and provided medical assistance including oxygen, food, and warm clothes to protect them from the vagaries of extreme altitude and harsh climatic conditions,” the Army said in a statement.

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The Army said that the Chinese citizens expressed their gratitude to India and the Indian Army for their assistance. The Chinese citizens had lost their way “in Plateau area of North Sikkim at an altitude of 17,500 feet,” the statement read.

The move by the Army came as India and China have been engaged in border row in eastern Ladakh since May. The tensions between the neighbouring countries escalated after 20 Indian soldiers were killed on June 15 in Galwan Valley after a violent physical clash with Chinese soldiers.

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India and China have been trying the solve the border row and are engaged in diplomatic and military level talks to reach a viable solution. However, the tensions between the two countries further flared up in the region after Chinese soldiers attempted, unsuccessfully, to occupy Indian territory on the southern bank of Pangong lake last week, despite the ongoing talks of de-escalation.

India has occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of the lake, on which China said that it strongly objected to the move.

The Defence Ministers of the two countries met on the sidelines of a multilateral meet in Moscow on Friday, where Rajnath Singh emphasised on the need to continue discussions through diplomatic and military channels in order to ensure de-escalation along the LAC.