PLA’s patrolling behaviour keeps LAC disturbed, Govt. says

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) has been “disturbed” by the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) patrolling behaviour, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday (October 23, 2026) in response to questions about a report in The Hindu on skirmishes along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh.

The report, which had quoted the outgoing Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Forces (ITBP), Shatrujeet Kapur, expressing concern over “face-offs” underway since July 2026, drew sharp criticism from the Congress.

Despite the Ministry’s confirmation, the video of Mr. Kapur’s speech, given at an event in Alwar on Thursday (October 22, 2026), was deleted from the ITBP’s official YouTube channel. This was the first time the government has officially accepted that, more than two years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping announced a détente between their militaries, the border areas remain tense and “get disturbed” over patrolling routes.

“As we have noted in the past, the situation in the India-China border areas gets disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns,” Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told journalists at a briefing here, blaming the PLA for the divergences. 

“Both sides continue to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the Line of Actual Control,” he added, directing queries on the specific situation to the Ministry of Defence. 

Mr. Jaiswal also reiterated the government’s position since the beginning of the four-year military standoff at the LAC, including the Galwan clashes in 2020, that the “maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations”, and said that both sides were in touch about improving their understanding of the LAC for “better border management”. 

The government’s response came after the Opposition demanded a clarification on the situation in Arunachal Pradesh. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked Prime Minister Modi to explain the “continuing face-offs” between Indian and Chinese troops at several locations along the Arunachal Pradesh border, questioning whether India’s patrolling access had be

In a post on X, Mr. Kharge said the confirmation by the chief of ITBP forces stationed at the LAC was “deeply alarming”.

The Congress chief alleged that Mr. Modi’s June 2020 statement that no one had entered Indian territory after the Galwan clashes had emboldened China. 

Addressing a press conference, Congress media and publicity department chairman, Pawan Khera, commended the ITBP’s ‘Shaurya Commandos’ for handling the confrontations with China, but accused the government of suppressing information from the border.

“The fact that China has entered our territory does not bother [the government]; what bothers them is that this has been reported,” Mr. Khera said, adding that “image is more important for them than the country’s interests”.

The Congress questioned the government’s easing of restrictions on Chinese investment and the growing trade deficit.

“India’s trade deficit with China zoomed even further to a record $112 billion in 2025–26, up from $99 billion the previous year. This has simply crushed our MSMEs in many industries,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post, adding, “Make in India has become Import from China. This staggering trade deficit is in itself a very significant threat to our economic security.”