China Calls Its Arunachal Patrols "Normal": What the LAC Face-Offs Mean and How Border Peace Is Kept
On 26 October 2026, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said its troops are only doing "normal" border patrols in the eastern sector of the India-China border (Arunachal Pradesh).
China said it follows the agreements and "common understandings" signed with India, and asked India to work with it to keep peace and calm in the border areas.
This came after India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on 23 October that the border is disturbed from time to time when Chinese troops move away from "established patrolling patterns" (the usual routes and points both sides have followed for years).
The chief of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the force that guards the India-China border, said face-offs (troops of both sides standing in front of each other, without firing) were still taking place at several places in Arunachal Pradesh.
Reports place the fresh face-offs in the Taksing and Maza areas of Upper Subansiri district.
Both countries say they are talking through diplomatic and military channels. India has said that peace on the border is essential for normal ties in other areas.
The Line of Actual Control (LAC): What It Is and Why It Differs from the LoC and the International Border
The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the line that separates areas held by India from areas held by China. It is not a border both countries have agreed on and marked on the ground. It only shows where each side's control stops today. Because each side has its own idea of where the line runs, patrols from both sides often walk into areas the other side also claims, and face-offs happen.
The face-offs happen because the LAC is not marked on the ground. When China says its patrols are "normal", it means they are inside what it sees as its side; India sees the same patrols as moving away from the usual pattern. The MEA has said both sides are discussing a better common understanding of the LAC "in appropriate areas" to avoid such misunderstandings.
Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) on the India-China Border
Confidence-building measures (CBMs) are agreed rules and habits that two rival countries follow so that small border incidents do not turn into fighting or war. India and China have signed a series of such agreements since 1993. These are the "agreements and common understandings" China referred to when it said it follows the rules.
Face-offs without firing, as now reported in Arunachal Pradesh, are exactly the kind of incident the 1996 agreement and the 2005 protocol were written to manage. Both sides calling for "jointly implementing common understandings" shows they still rely on this CBM framework to keep the LAC calm.
Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs): Structure and Role
The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are armed forces under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs that protect India's borders and help keep internal security. Unlike the Army, which is under the Ministry of Defence, they are police forces. Each force has its own law, its own area of work and its own Director-General.
The statement that face-offs are continuing came from the ITBP chief, because the ITBP's posts and patrols are on the front line of the India-China border. This shows how a police force under the Home Ministry, not only the Army, handles day-to-day contact with Chinese troops.
- China's foreign ministry statement on "normal" patrols: 26 October 2026
- MEA statement on Chinese troops departing from "established patrolling patterns": 23 October 2026
- Reported face-off areas: Taksing and Maza, Upper Subansiri district, Arunachal Pradesh
- LAC length (India's count): 3,488 km; three sectors (western, middle, eastern)
- McMahon Line: Simla Convention, 1914
- China's claim in Arunachal Pradesh: about 90,000 sq km ("Zangnan")
- Key CBMs: 1993 peace and tranquillity agreement, 1996 military CBMs agreement, 2005 protocol, 2012 WMCC, 2013 BDCA
- Depsang and Demchok patrolling arrangement: announced 21 October 2024
- ITBP: raised 24 October 1962; ITBP Force Act, 1992; full India-China border since 2004