India and China are experiencing military face-offs along their disputed border in Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas.
Director General (DG) of India’s Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Shatrujeet Kapur, confirmed the continuing “face-offs” along a segment of the eastern India-China border on Thursday, Oct. 22.
Speaking at an ITBP event in Alwar, Rajasthan, Kapur said that a tense situation had arisen following face-offs at several locations along the eastern Himalayan border and that these confrontations were still continuing.
“ITBP jawans posted in Arunachal have been doing a fantastic job, even during a tense stand-off, which continues. The face-off is happening at various locations,” he said, according to Arunachal Times, a local daily.
China considers Arunachal Pradesh to be part of Zangnan, or “South Tibet,” and has claimed the region as its territory since Nov. 13, 2006, when its then-ambassador to India, Sun Yuxi (孙玉玺), said in an interview with CNN-IBN that China claimed the whole of Arunachal Pradesh, not just Tawang. His statement came shortly before Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit to India. The Indian government rejected the Chinese “contention” on that occasion as well, according to a release by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
For the best of our weekly content！
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Check your email to complete sign up
According to several reports in the Indian media, friction points have been active since July 2026, centered on areas such as the Taksing and Maza sectors in Upper Subansiri district, including the Asaphila region. Upper Subansiri is a mountainous, forested district in northern Arunachal Pradesh along the border. The Taksing and Maza areas are characterized by difficult Himalayan terrain, traditional land use by Indigenous communities, and differing Indian and Chinese perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Responding to a question about the “fresh confrontation” by Bloomberg, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular press-conference on Monday that PLA controls “normal patrol activities” and New Delhi and Beijing should implement common understanding reached mutually to maintain peace and tranquility on the “border areas.” The statement however doesn’t mention the border as disputed.
“China strictly abides by the relevant agreements and common understandings reached between the two countries, and conducts normal border patrol and control activities to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and stability in the border areas. China and India maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels,” Guo said.
Historical contexts
Claude Arpi, a French-born writer, historian, and Tibetologist who has spent decades researching Tibet, India–China relations, and Himalayan border history, told Vision Times that “historical reasons” have contributed to disputes over a few areas in Arunachal Pradesh.
“While some areas are patrolled by both sides, other areas are patrolled by only one side. Though there is no formal LAC (on a map) for these areas, the patrolling patterns are usually respected by both parties. China seems to have broken the status quo,” Arpi said.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also confirmed on Friday that troops of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had deviated from established patrolling patterns from time to time, disturbing the situation along the border. Jaiswal said New Delhi was using existing diplomatic and military channels to resolve the matter.
According to a report by The Indian Express, since late July, PLA troops have been engaged in “face-offs” with the Indian military near Asaphila and Taksing in Upper Subansiri district. These incidents included the pitching of tents within 3 to 4.5 miles of India’s perceived Line of Actual Control (LAC).
According to Arpi, Jaiswal’s statement means that the Chinese have “changed (or have tried to change)” the areas they patrol along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh. In practical terms, Arpi said, “diverge from established patrolling patterns” means that PLA troops have entered areas perceived by India as its territory and, “in some cases, planted their tents or started infrastructure” there.
The expert said that Beijing uses similar tactics in the South China Sea to establish its presence.
“You must understand that the Chinese have always tried to occupy areas that appear ‘empty’ or ‘unoccupied’ to them, though this does not mean that these areas belong to China. This has been true in Ladakh, and it is true today in Arunachal Pradesh,” Arpi said.
Diplomatic confrontations
The differing perceptions of the border have long been a diplomatic issue between India and China. The issue was recently discussed at the Modi-Xi meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi on Sept. 12. The meeting fueled speculation of a thaw in relations, while reports of “face-offs” continuing since July, as reported by The Indian Express, had not yet become public.
Just two weeks earlier, the 25th round of India–China Special Representatives’ (SR) talks on the boundary question, involving Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, took place in Beijing on Aug. 25. The talks further heightened speculation of a thaw.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping may meet again in Florida on Dec. 14 or Dec. 15 during the 2026 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami. The border dispute is likely to come up again, but this time the discussions may not be driven by speculation of a thaw.
Retired Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, former Chief of Integrated Defence Staff and a geopolitical commentator, told Vision Times that Beijing wants to distract India from its economic rise and that the border face-offs are a “test response.”
“China has consistently been attempting to slow down India’s economic growth by opening new frontiers. Most economically developed countries have been doing so. First, they try to rewrite history and now wish to rewrite geography, a very typical Chinese philosophy, to expand without fighting a war,” Sinha said.
According to Arpi, the face-offs in Arunachal Pradesh are intended to put pressure on India and are likely a reaction to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs reiterating India’s claim to the Shaksgam Valley in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The Shaksgam Valley is a remote, high-altitude region north of the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram Mountains. Also known as the Trans-Karakoram Tract, it covers approximately 5,180 square kilometres in an area claimed by India. China administers the region as part of Xinjiang, while India maintains that it is Indian territory and rejects the agreement under which Pakistan transferred control of the area to China.
According to Arpi, this raises the question: “Who is taking the decision to ‘push’ troops into Indian territory (or start infrastructure), considering that the chain of command seems completely broken after the latest purges ordered by Xi Jinping?”
Original article
Comments