India is holding military and diplomatic talks with China after Chinese troops set up tents on land New Delhi regards as its own in its eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh which China claims as its Zangnan or South Tibet province.

According to remarks by Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a press briefing, the discussions followed disturbances that arose when Chinese forces departed from their established patrol patterns, the BBC reported.

The standoff puts at risk a thaw between the two nuclear-armed neighbours that was barely beginning to settle in the public eye. Relations collapsed most catastrophically in June 2020, when hand-to-hand fighting in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh killed 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers according to each side’s official figures.

While the deaths caused a major public uproar in India, it also caused deep diplomatic and economic strain between the two biggest economies in Asia. Preliminary agreements reached in 2024 eased tensions on the frontier and led to the return of direct flights and looser visa rules.

In September 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping travelled to India for the BRICS summit, his first visit to the country in seven years.

While it is unclear if similar incidents between 2024 and 2026 involved any significant violence, the incursion again came to the fore on October 22, 2026, when Shatrujeet Singh Kapur, chief of India’s border constabulary force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police revealed that Chinese troops had entered Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh and pitched tents.

India’s opposition leaders belonging to the Indian National Congress party, Mallikarjun Kharge and Jairam Ramesh responded by attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, accusing it of keeping quiet and giving up territory.