New Delhi, July 24 -- Heads bowed, experts offered their respects on Monday ahead of an excavation aimed at recovering the remains of Japanese soldiers from World War II in southern Taiwan.

The site is linked to the sinking of a military transport vessel and other ships in the Bashi Channel after they were attacked by U.S. forces in 1944. According to historian Kazuko Tachi, who is also an activist involved in the recovery efforts, more than 4,700 soldiers and crew members died while 65 survived.

Taiwan, a self-governing island claimed by China as its territory, was a Japanese colony from 1895 until the end of the war.

"It is believed that many bodies from the sunken vessel reached this shore," said Tatsuaki Inoue, representing the Jap...