A yak may have eased tension between China and India.

India has handed back to China one of its soldiers who has been detained by India's military near the isolated, mountainous border the country shares with China, in what experts hope could diffuse animosities between the two sides following violent clashes over the summer that threatened to result in a major confrontation.

According to Chinese foreign ministry officials, the soldier identified as Corporal Wang Ya Long, had inadvertently crossed over the Indian border on Sunday while helping local herders search for the lost animal.

China's People's Liberation Army offered no further details about how Wang has wandered off unaccompanied by other soldiers in the Demchok area of Ladakh. Based on reports, the corporal was wearing civilian clothes and had no weapon.

Indian military officials believe the Chinese soldier was either genuinely lost or sent out on a mission to analyze movements and defenses on the Indian side. He becomes the first trooper from China detained by the Indian military since frictions worsened this year.

According to the Indian military, the Chinese soldier looked disoriented when he was found and was given the necessary medical assistance. He was returned to the Chinese military under "established protocols," India said.

Just last month, China detained five Indian nationals -- non-soldiers but ordinary citizens - after they had moved away aimlessly across the border. They were handed back to India after a few days.

China and India have deployed tens of thousands of troops and delivered massive amounts of military hardware such as combat aircraft, artillery, and tanks, in preparation for a hostile winter season along the high-altitude border region.

Tensions between the two countries have been dramatically high since June when a clash in the Galwan Valley claimed the lives of 20 Indian troopers and injured a number of Chinese soldiers. It was the first deadly skirmish between China and India since 1975 and it happened during a coronavirus pandemic.

That clash in the valley involved the use of fists, rocks, and sticks. No bullets. Just plain punches and kicks.

That yak should be a reminder that there's always a solution to a problem -- if people just know how to search.