The foreign ministry on Tuesday said that maintaining peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control between India and China is of utmost importance, and that the “state of the border affairs” will affect bilateral ties in general.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the remarks at a media briefing in response to a question about reports of a fresh standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.
The standoff was first reported in early July in the remote Taksin area of Upper Subansiri district, the Hindustan Times quoted unidentified sources as saying. There were several face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops in July, which became more serious towards the end of the month. The Army and the Union government have not yet commented on the reports.
While Jaiswal did not comment specifically on the reported standoff, he said that India had raised the importance of maintaining peace along the Line of Actual Control at the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs in New Delhi on August 6.
“In matters relating to the 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 tranquility in these areas is of the utmost importance.” he said. “We have also stated that the state of the border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties.”
Border tensions between India and China escalated in June 2020 when a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control. It led to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. Beijing said that the clash left four of its soldiers dead.
Following the military face-off, both countries deployed thousands of soldiers along with heavy artillery in the region. China and India held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve their border standoff.
In July 2025, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that relations between India and China were “steadily improving” and called for the continued normalisation of bilateral ties.
Arunachal Pradesh integral part of India: MEA
On Tuesday, Jaiswal also rejected China’s objections to India’s recent move to assign standard names to 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable and integral part of India,” he said, adding that nothing could change this “indisputable reality”.
On August 7, the Union home ministry had issued standard names for 27 locations and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh, including some in areas claimed by China.
China has for long sought to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. Beijing lays territorial claims over a large portion of Arunachal Pradesh, claiming that it is “South Tibet”. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan. India has rejected China’s claims.
The developments came a month before the upcoming BRICS Summit, where Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi.
The BRICS grouping comprises India, Brazil, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Written by Tanya Shrivastava. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.
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