China has said it never detained Indian soldiers after Indian media reports said 10 of them were released after they were captured during a high-altitude border clash within the Himalayas which also left a minimum of 20 Indian soldiers dead.
When asked about Indian media reports on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said "China hasn't seized any Indian personnel" after the 2 sides fought with nail-studded batons and hurled rocks at one another within the disputed Galwan Valley - the deadliest such crash in 45 years.
Zhao said "the right and wrong is extremely clear and therefore the responsibility lies entirely with the Indian side," consistent with the Associated Press.
He added the 2 sides are in communication over diplomatic and military channels. "We hope India can work with China to take care of the long-term development of bilateral relations," he said at a daily briefing.
Earlier on Friday, India's PTI press agency and other media reported that China released 10 Indian army soldiers, including a minimum of two senior officers, late on Thursday.
Their release followed several rounds of major-general-level talks between the 2 armies during a bid to ease tensions, the reports said.
'Returned unharmed'
The Indian Express newspaper, quoting officials it didn't name, said all 10 soldiers were released by China around 5 pm (11:30 GMT) on Thursday.The released soldiers were medically examined and provided a preliminary debriefing, reports said. "They were returned unharmed," said The Hindu.
The Indian Express said it had been the primary time after the 1962 India-China war that Indian soldiers were taken into custody by the Chinese side.
The Indian army on Thursday denied its soldiers were in Chinese custody. "No Indian troops missing in action," a press release released by the military said.
Later within the day, the Indian army said 76 of its soldiers were wounded in Monday night's clash in Galway Valley. It added that 56 of these wounded had been cleared to return to figure "within a week".
Decades-old border conflict
India said its soldiers were killed during a premeditated attack by Chinese troops at a time when top commanders had agreed to defuse tensions on the road of Actual Control (LAC), or the disputed and poorly defined border between the 2 nations.China rejected the allegations and blamed front-line Indian soldiers for provoking the conflict which happened at the freezing height of 14,000 feet (4,300 meters) within the western Himalayas.
The 4,056-km (2,520-mile) border between India and China runs through glaciers, snow deserts, and rivers within the west to thickly forested mountains within the east.
The Galway Valley is an arid, inhospitable area, where some soldiers are deployed on steep ridges.
It is considered important because it results in the Aksai Chin, a disputed plateau claimed by India but controlled by China.
The border tension with China has become Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most serious policy challenge since he took power in 2014.
Hardline nationalist groups tied to Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have stepped up involves a boycott of Chinese goods and therefore the cancellation of contracts with Chinese firms.
Amid involves a boycott, thousands attended funerals on Thursday for several of the 20 Indian soldiers killed within the clash.
Chinese flags and posters of China's President Xi Jinping were burned in a minimum of two cities.
The US condoles with India
Us offered condolences to India on Friday over the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers killed within the vicious combat with Chinese troops."We extend our deepest condolences to the people of India for the lives lost as a result of the recent confrontation with China," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a message posted on Twitter.
"We will remember the soldiers' families, loved ones, and communities as they grieve."
As a non-aligned nation, India has always sought to balance the influence of super-powers, while maintaining an independent course in policy matters.
But within the past 20 years, New Delhi has built closer political and defense ties with Washington, and therefore the US has become one among India's top arms suppliers.
In the wake of the rising tensions with Beijing, there are rising calls from top former Indian diplomats for a good tighter relationship with the US and its allies like Japan to assist face the economic and military might of China.
"This is a chance for India to align its interests far more strongly and unequivocally with the US as a principal strategic partner and infuse more energy into relations with Japan, Australia, and ASEAN," former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao wrote within the Hindu.
China was yet to officially disclose if it suffered any casualties within the deadliest clash between the 2 nuclear-armed Asian neighbors in decades.
India and China haven't exchanged gunfire at the border since 1967, despite occasional flare-ups. Soldiers are under instructions to stay their rifles slung at their backs.
Since the clash, there's no sign of a breakthrough between the 2 Asian giants.
"The situation remains because it was, there's no disengagement, but there's also no further build-up of forces," said an Indian government source conscious of the bottom situation.
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