Indian Army debunks ‘unsubstantiated, false’ claims of Chinese troops advancing in Arunachal Pradesh

The Indian Army on Saturday rejected social media claims that Chinese forces had defeated Indian troops, advanced into Arunachal Pradesh, and established Chinese control over Indian territory, saying these false statements were being amplified to promote a misleading narrative.

In its official fact-check account on X, the Indian Army accused several suspected Pakistan-sponsored social media accounts of circulating "exaggerated" and "unsubstantiated" claims and called it a "coordinated inauthentic behaviour".

"Several suspected Pak-sponsored social media accounts are circulating misleading claims that Chinese forces have severely defeated Indian troops, advanced nearly 50 km into Arunachal Pradesh and established PLA control over Indian territory," it said. “These false claims are being amplified in a coordinated manner to promote a misleading anti-Indian Army narrative.”

The Indian government also identified six handles that were found to have circulated such misleading claims between November 6 and 7 to create an anti-Indian Army narrative. The Army also urged people to verify border-related claims through credible and official sources before sharing information.

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India-China face-off at Arunachal

This came months after reports of a standoff between Chinese and Indian troops in Arunachal Pradesh surfaced in July. Last month, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Kapur said that the Shaurya platoon was successfully dealing with a “face-off”.

In his address to the troops in Rajasthan's Alwar at a felicitation ceremony on Thursday, ITBP Director General Kapur purportedly said: “In recent days, there was a situation in Arunachal Pradesh where there was a face-off at different locations, which is still continuing. There our Shaurya commando teams did really exceedingly well." A video clip of his remarks was widely circulated online, triggering questions by the Opposition.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said the situation in the India-China border areas gets disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns.

Also Read | LAC situation ‘disturbed’ when Chinese troops diverge from patrolling patterns: India's external affairs ministry after border standoff

"Both sides continue to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the Line of Actual Control. The two sides have also agreed to discuss ways to improve understanding of LAC in appropriate areas for better border management," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said.

Attempts at reconciliation

HT had earlier reported that tensions had erupted between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) at Taksing, a remote area of Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Subansiri district, in July and August.

These reports surfaced before India and China held the first round of talks between military commanders in the eastern sector in Arunachal Pradesh on September 6 and 7, days before Chinese President Xi Jinping travelled to India after seven years to attend the BRICS Summit during September 12-13.

A military face-off between India and China in the western sector, which began in April-May 2020 and dragged on for more than four years, had taken bilateral ties to their lowest point in six decades. Since the two sides reached an understanding in October 2024 on ending the standoff, they have taken a number of steps to normalise the relationship and put in place confidence-building measures along the LAC.