Indian sailors stuck in China for months; return delayed yet again

The return of the 23 Indian sailors who are stranded in China has been delayed yet again. The Indian crew members of the cargo ship MV Jag Anand were supposed to arrive in Japan on 14 January. However, this has been put off to 18 January.

Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways Mansukh Mandaviya had, on January 9, announced that the Indian mariners would return via Japan on January 14.

 

The sailors were expected to reach Japan on January 14 and they were to be flown back to India, subject to the COVID-19 protocols. The sailors have been stuck in China for seven months. In December, the Indian External Affairs Ministry had said that two cargo vessels with a total of 39 Indians on board have been on anchorage in Chinese waters as they were not allowed to unload their cargo.

On January 10, India had returned a Chinese soldier who had strayed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. He was apprehended near the south bank of Pangong Tso, a mountain lake along the de facto frontier. Pangong Tso lake is the site of the clashes that took place between India and China in May 2020, where soldiers exchanged blows and hurled rocks at one another along the banks of the lake.