ISLAMABAD: Indian Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) chief Shatrujeet Kapoor has acknowledged that Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in confrontations in several border areas of India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh for several months.
Reports of tensions between the two countries’ forces along the Arunachal Pradesh border have circulated in recent days. However, neither side had officially confirmed or denied the reports.
Recently, several Indian accounts on X shared a video in which Kapoor can be heard saying that certain situations had developed in Arunachal Pradesh in recent days, resulting in confrontations at several locations, and that the situation was still continuing.
The ITBP chief praised the performance of his force’s Shaurya Commando teams in dealing with the situation.
He said the recently established Shaurya Commando Force was performing exceptionally well and that its personnel had demonstrated exemplary performance in the region. He added that a full battalion of Shaurya Commandos would be formed soon.
According to the BBC, Indian newspaper The Hindu, citing government sources, reported that Indian and Chinese troops had been positioned opposite each other since July in the Asaphila area near Taksing village in Arunachal Pradesh.
The report stated that Indian and Chinese troops came face to face at Maja sometime in July. Following a brief confrontation, troops from both sides withdrew. However, a few days later, a large number of personnel from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) returned to the area and set up tents approximately six to seven kilometres inside territory that India considers its own.
Several Indian accounts on X have also circulated a video purportedly showing Indian and Chinese troops facing each other. However, the authenticity, location and date of the footage could not be independently verified.
Following Kapoor’s remarks, opposition parties in India accused the government of concealing facts about the situation along the border with China.
Senior Congress leader and former Indian foreign minister Salman Khurshid told the media that the public was not being informed of the full details of developments along the Chinese border.
He urged the government to present the details before Parliament and hold a debate on the issue to develop a common strategy.
Accusing the Modi government of withholding information, Khurshid said it was unfortunate that details of the situation were emerging through different sources rather than through official government statements.
He stressed that China was a neighbouring country and that India should maintain good relations with it, but those relations must be based on equality and mutual respect.
Arunachal Pradesh is an Indian-administered state in northeastern India. However, China claims sovereignty over the territory, considers it part of southern Tibet and refers to it as Zangnan.
Spread over approximately 83,000 square kilometres, Arunachal Pradesh has a population of around 1.6 million and shares a 1,129-kilometre-long border with China.
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