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.
JUST IN : #JagAnand
MV Jag Anand's ETA at Chiba, Japan is delayed. Ship with 23 indian crew is now expected to reach Japan on 18th January 2021. pic.twitter.com/aW72yinzsl— Prasar Bharati, Beijing (@PBSC_Beijing) January 14, 2021
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.
Our Seafarers stuck in China are coming back to India!
Ship M. V. Jag Anand, having 23 Indian crews, stuck in China, is set to sail toward Chiba,Japan to carry out crew change, will reach India on 14th January.
This could only happen due to strong leadership of @NarendraModi ji— Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) January 9, 2021
UPDATE :
The Seafarers will reach Chiba Port, Japan on 14th January and after following due procedure related to COVID protocols, they will fly back to India.— Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) January 9, 2021
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.