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China said the situation along the India-China border was “generally stable”, as New Delhi reiterated to Beijing that what happens on the border will shape the course of India-China ties.
“The China-India border situation is generally stable at the moment,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said on Wednesday. “China and India held the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs last week. The two sides agreed to maintain communication via diplomatic and military channels and jointly uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas.”
These comments came a day after Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said that “peace and tranquillity” along the border areas has been emphasised in conversations with China and it has also been conveyed that bilateral ties will be a reflection of the state of border affairs.
Jaiswal’s comments came at the scheduled biweekly press briefing on August 11, where he was responding to a reporter’s question on the military situation between India and China amid reports of an alleged standoff.
“In matters relating to 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,” Jaiswal said.
While not directly commenting on reports of a standoff, Jaiswal said that India and China held “frank discussions”, reviewing the situation along the LAC.
“We have also stated that the state of border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties. This was also reiterated at the 36th WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs) meeting on the India-China border affairs which was held on the 6th (August),” he said.
Eastern Sector Back In Focus
The statements come amid renewed attention on the eastern sector of the Indo-China border following reports since late June of Chinese military activity near Taksing in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri district.
On June 26, The Nah Welfare Society, a community-based society in Taksing, wrote a letter to the Upper Subansiri deputy commissioner alleging encroachment by China. However, these reports were dismissed by Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Mama Natung, who said “there has been no encroachment in Arunachal Pradesh by the Chinese.”
In late July, once again reports and videos emerged on social media alleging a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control. Images circulating online showed Indian and Chinese soldiers face to face, with the Chinese side holding a red banner, similar to the banner protocol followed in these situations. These have not been verified.
On August 7, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu also rejected reports of an incursion.
“We don't think there was an incursion as the Indian Army personnel are deployed and maintaining the territory. I have also urged the local tribes; I will hear them and also talk to the army,” Khandu told reporters.
A Naming Dispute
The military debate wasn’t, however, the only topic pulling attention to the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.
On August 7, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that 27 locations and geographical features had been identified by their standard names on the official Survey of India maps, in consultation with the Arunachal Pradesh government. The Home Ministry said in the press release that the exercise was aimed at facilitating the “accurate recognition” of the listed places and improving public awareness at large.
The list comprises 21 land areas, four mountain passes, a lake and a monument. It also includes some sensitive regions along the McMahon line like Longju, Bisa and Maja and the Thag La pass in the Tawang region.
The McMahon line is the border line separating India and China in the Eastern sector and was agreed upon at the 1914 Simla Convention between Britain, India and Tibet. However, China has refused to acknowledge it and so also doesn’t recognise Arunachal Pradesh. Instead, it refers to it as “Zangnan” or South Tibet.
China dismissed India’s recent nomenclature exercise during a press briefing on August 10.
“China does not recognize the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh” illegally set up by India. India’s move of attempting to replace names that have long been used by China with its so-called “standard names” is illegal, null and void. Still less will it change the fact that Zangnan region belongs to China,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
India further rejected Chinese objections to the recent name standardisation exercise. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at the biweekly press briefing said Arunachal Pradesh remains an “inalienable and integral part of India”, adding that nothing could change this “indisputable reality”.
China is not a stranger to cartographic exercises. For almost the past decade, China has, on multiple occasions, issued lists renaming locations along the Arunachal Pradesh border. It started with standardising names of six places in the Tawang region in 2017, then 15 places in 2021, 11 places in 2023, 30 places in 2024, and another 27 in 2025. The sixth and most recent list came out in April 2026, with 23 names on it.
Some military experts view this as legal warfare, one part of the Three Warfares doctrine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
“China gives Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh so that over a period of time they can use that to support their claim to that area. This is all part of their legal warfare,” Lt Gen Narasimhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd), a China expert, said.
For India, this is the first time New Delhi has put out such a list of standardised names for places along the border in Arunachal Pradesh.
These latest developments come as India and China attempt to stabilise ties following the prolonged military standoff along the Line of Actual Control that began in 2020. On October 21, 2024, India and China reached an agreement on patrolling and troop disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, and cautious engagements have followed since. Additionally, India is set to host the BRICS summit on September 12 and 13, which the Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend.
“The China-India border situation is generally stable at the moment,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said on Wednesday. “China and India held the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs last week. The two sides agreed to maintain communication via diplomatic and military channels and jointly uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas.”
These comments came a day after Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said that “peace and tranquillity” along the border areas has been emphasised in conversations with China and it has also been conveyed that bilateral ties will be a reflection of the state of border affairs.
Jaiswal’s comments came at the scheduled biweekly press briefing on August 11, where he was responding to a reporter’s question on the military situation between India and China amid reports of an alleged standoff.
“In matters relating to 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,” Jaiswal said.
While not directly commenting on reports of a standoff, Jaiswal said that India and China held “frank discussions”, reviewing the situation along the LAC.
“We have also stated that the state of border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties. This was also reiterated at the 36th WMCC (Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs) meeting on the India-China border affairs which was held on the 6th (August),” he said.
Eastern Sector Back In Focus
The statements come amid renewed attention on the eastern sector of the Indo-China border following reports since late June of Chinese military activity near Taksing in Arunachal Pradesh's Upper Subansiri district.
On June 26, The Nah Welfare Society, a community-based society in Taksing, wrote a letter to the Upper Subansiri deputy commissioner alleging encroachment by China. However, these reports were dismissed by Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister Mama Natung, who said “there has been no encroachment in Arunachal Pradesh by the Chinese.”
In late July, once again reports and videos emerged on social media alleging a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control. Images circulating online showed Indian and Chinese soldiers face to face, with the Chinese side holding a red banner, similar to the banner protocol followed in these situations. These have not been verified.
On August 7, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu also rejected reports of an incursion.
“We don't think there was an incursion as the Indian Army personnel are deployed and maintaining the territory. I have also urged the local tribes; I will hear them and also talk to the army,” Khandu told reporters.
A Naming Dispute
The military debate wasn’t, however, the only topic pulling attention to the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh.
On August 7, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that 27 locations and geographical features had been identified by their standard names on the official Survey of India maps, in consultation with the Arunachal Pradesh government. The Home Ministry said in the press release that the exercise was aimed at facilitating the “accurate recognition” of the listed places and improving public awareness at large.
The list comprises 21 land areas, four mountain passes, a lake and a monument. It also includes some sensitive regions along the McMahon line like Longju, Bisa and Maja and the Thag La pass in the Tawang region.
The McMahon line is the border line separating India and China in the Eastern sector and was agreed upon at the 1914 Simla Convention between Britain, India and Tibet. However, China has refused to acknowledge it and so also doesn’t recognise Arunachal Pradesh. Instead, it refers to it as “Zangnan” or South Tibet.
China dismissed India’s recent nomenclature exercise during a press briefing on August 10.
“China does not recognize the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh” illegally set up by India. India’s move of attempting to replace names that have long been used by China with its so-called “standard names” is illegal, null and void. Still less will it change the fact that Zangnan region belongs to China,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.
India further rejected Chinese objections to the recent name standardisation exercise. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal at the biweekly press briefing said Arunachal Pradesh remains an “inalienable and integral part of India”, adding that nothing could change this “indisputable reality”.
China is not a stranger to cartographic exercises. For almost the past decade, China has, on multiple occasions, issued lists renaming locations along the Arunachal Pradesh border. It started with standardising names of six places in the Tawang region in 2017, then 15 places in 2021, 11 places in 2023, 30 places in 2024, and another 27 in 2025. The sixth and most recent list came out in April 2026, with 23 names on it.
Some military experts view this as legal warfare, one part of the Three Warfares doctrine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
“China gives Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh so that over a period of time they can use that to support their claim to that area. This is all part of their legal warfare,” Lt Gen Narasimhan PVSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd), a China expert, said.
For India, this is the first time New Delhi has put out such a list of standardised names for places along the border in Arunachal Pradesh.
These latest developments come as India and China attempt to stabilise ties following the prolonged military standoff along the Line of Actual Control that began in 2020. On October 21, 2024, India and China reached an agreement on patrolling and troop disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, and cautious engagements have followed since. Additionally, India is set to host the BRICS summit on September 12 and 13, which the Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend.
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