- Reports claim Chinese troops crossed the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri district recently
- Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said he did not think any such incursion was taking place
- "Maintenance of peace in these areas is of the utmost importance," the MEA said on Tuesday
Reacting to reports of an alleged Chinese incursion in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri district, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has warned that the state of border affairs will reflect on the "state of larger bilateral ties" between the two countries.
Quoting residents, recent reports have claimed that Chinese troops crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and entered areas near Pukar La and Ollo in the Taksing circle.
Asked about this last week, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu denied the reports and said he would speak to the Army and local organisations to find out exactly what had happened.
Khandu said he did not think any such incursion was taking place as the Army has been effectively guarding the border and maintaining the security of Indian territory.
Responding to a question on this on Tuesday, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said maintaining peace in the area is the most important thing and gave details about discussions that have taken place on border issues.
READ | 'Inalienable Part': India Rejects China Remarks On Naming Places in Arunachal
"In matters relating to the border areas between India and China, we have always emphasised in discussions with the Chinese side that we consider these issues as most serious and that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in these areas is of the utmost importance. We have also stated that the state of the border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties," Jaiswal said.
"This was also reiterated at the recently held 36th Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC) on 6th Aug 2026. At this meeting, the two sides engaged in frank discussions and reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Indian side again underlined that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations," he added.
The spokesperson said both sides agreed to continue to use existing diplomatic and military channels, including the WMCC and local commander‑level meetings, to resolve outstanding issues and "avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation" along the LAC.
"Inalienable Part"
Last week, India had also identified 27 places and features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names on the official Indian map to counter Chinese attempts to rename places in the state.
China had objected to the move and said it does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh.
"India's move of attempting to replace names long been used by China with its so-called 'standard names' is illegal, null and void," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
This prompted a forceful rebuttal from India on Tuesday, with Jaiswal reiterating the position that Arunachal Pradesh is an "inalienable part" of the country.
