(TibetanReview.net, Sep14’26) – China significantly reduced the size of its People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in occupied Tibet last year, said Indian media reports Sep 14, citing the country’s Defence Ministry annual report. Ten combined Arms Brigade-size forces are now stated to remain deployed in areas along the LAC and in traditional training areas. However, while this report covers the period up to Mar 31, 2026, recent report from Arunachal Pradesh and other sources speak of the Chinese military pursuing aggressive and expansionist activities that have reportedly been confirmed by satellite imagery.
“The year 2025 witnessed a significant reduction in the deployment of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces opposite the northern borders,” hindustantimes.com Sep 14 quoted the ministry as saying in its latest annual report. Apart from the 10 combined arms brigades positioned along the LAC, another 10 are stationed in traditional training areas away from the frontier, the 2025-26 report was cited as saying.
This translates into an estimated 40,000-50,000 Chinese troops along the LAC since last year, and an equal number based in the designated training areas. The previous troop deployment, though not stated in the 323-page report, was estimated to be more than 60,000 in the Ladakh sector alone.
“The bilateral interactions between India and China at political, diplomatic and military levels facilitated positive developments along the northern borders,” the report was quoted as saying.
The Indian Army’s deployment in all sectors along the LAC was stated to be robust, with the force being prepared to deal with any emerging contingency.
In Oct 2024, the two sides reached an understanding on disengaging troops from all friction points in the Ladakh sector, ending a standoff that lasted more than four years, during which ties between the two sides remained plunged in a six-decade low.
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However, the report covers developments up to Mar 31, 2026, and predates the latest tensions between the Indian Army and the PLA at Taksing, a remote area in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district, the report noted.
In the face of punishing tariffs from the Trump administration of the USA, China has persisted in emphasizing that India should move to normalize bilateral ties with it without preconditioning it to the establishment of trust on the border situation.
Nevertheless, India on Sep 12 again emphasised that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remained the “essential basis” for developing ties with China, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping welcomed “steady progress” in bilateral relations during a meeting on the margins of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
Xi travelled to India for the first time in seven years to attend the summit, setting up the meeting with Modi to take forward the normalisation of bilateral ties amid lingering tensions on the border. The two leaders last met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in the Chinese city of Tianjin a year ago.
Their talks also offered an opportunity to take stock of several rounds of dialogue between the Special Representatives on the border issue, the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC), and senior military commanders, the report noted.
India and China held the first round of talks between military commanders in the eastern sector in Arunachal Pradesh on Sep 6 and 7. It marked the first corps commander-level engagement in the sector days after the 25th round of talks between the Special Representatives of India and China on the boundary question in Beijing.
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The latest Xi-Modi meeting took place in the backdrop of fresh tensions between the two armies in Arunachal Pradesh, with reports of face-offs during July and August, the report noted.
On Sep 11, the All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) and three Tagin organisations urged Governor KT Parnaik to take up with the Centre concerns over alleged increased activities by the Chinese PLA along the LAC, particularly in Taksing and Gelemo areas of Upper Subansiri district.
A delegation comprising representatives of the AAPSU, Tagin Cultural Society, All Upper Subansiri District Students’ Union and All Tagin Youth Association met the governor at the Lok Bhavan in the state capital Itanagar and submitted a five-point memorandum, seeking stronger security deployment, surveillance and connectivity in the frontier areas, reported Arunachaltimes.in Sep 12.
The organisations were reported to have said that frontier residents were facing difficulties accessing traditional hunting, cattle-grazing and yak-grazing grounds due to restrictions and reported PLA presence or movement.
Their concerns were confirmed by a lengthy independent.co.uk report Sep 12 which said satellite images show a rapid expansion of infrastructure at multiple sites along and near the disputed India-Tibet frontier in Arunachal Pradesh, including new buildings, roads, as well as helipads.
“The Chinese are currently encroaching on our ancestral land. We eat, survive and run our livelihoods from here, and it is our land. They have already entered very far inside Indian territory,” Takok Mra, resident of a remote village around 20km from the border in India’s Arunachal Pradesh, has said. “I cannot say exactly how many kilometres they have taken, but they have taken a lot.”
The report said that in the satellite images provided by Vantor, analysts note recent construction and infrastructure changes at multiple sites in the Upper Subansiri Valley, where Mra’s village of Gelemo is located.