Confrontations between Indian and Chinese troops are continuing at several points along the Arunachal Pradesh border, the chief of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police said on Thursday, months after reports of a stand-off in the region emerged.
“Over the past few days, a situation arose in which face-offs took place at several locations in Arunachal, and it is still continuing,” ITBP Director General Shatrujeet Singh Kapur was quoted as saying by The Hindu at an event in Alwar, Rajasthan.
The ITBP guards the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between India and China.
Kapur also said the force was strengthening its preparedness for modern warfare by deploying drones, specialised commando units and new underground shelters, according to the Press Trust of India.
Reports of a stand-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers near Taksing in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district surfaced in July. An unidentified official told The Hindu at the time that troops from both countries had encountered each other near Maja during routine patrolling.
The official said the troops initially withdrew following a brief confrontation, but Chinese soldiers returned a few days later in greater numbers and set up tents around 6-7 km inside India’s perception of the LAC.
The Indian military and the federal government did not comment on the reports at the time.
In August, the Ministry of External Affairs said maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC was of “utmost importance”, adding that the state of border relations would have wider implications for bilateral ties.
The latest remarks come amid renewed political scrutiny of the government’s handling of tensions with China.
On Friday, the opposition Congress accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government of suppressing reports of border confrontations since July. It also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his interactions with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the BRICS summit in September, arguing that the government had failed to respond adequately to the reported incidents.
Xi visited India from September 11 to 13 for the summit, against the backdrop of an improvement in bilateral relations since 2024, following years of tensions over a military stand-off in Ladakh.
India and China have held three rounds of high-level border talks since July, The Hindu reported.
China claims much of Arunachal Pradesh, referring to the territory as “South Tibet” and using the name Zangnan. Beijing has also repeatedly sought to rename locations in the state. India rejects China’s territorial claims and maintains that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of the country.
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