MoD report says PLA deployment reduced on northern border, says Indian Army ‘poised and prepared’
New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence’s Annual Report 2025-26 has said deployment by the People’s Liberation Army opposite India’s northern borders saw a decrease through 2025.
The report said, “The year 2025 witnessed significant reduction in deployment of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces opposite northern borders, with 10 combined arms brigade-size forces each deployed in areas along the line of actual control (LAC) and in traditional training areas. The deployment of IA in all sectors along the LAC is robust, well poised and prepared to deal with any emerging contingency.”
The report attributed the stability to sustained bilateral engagement held through the year. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) held its 33rd round in March 2025 and its 34th round in July 2025. The special representatives talks on the boundary issue resumed after a gap, with rounds held in December 2024 and August 2025.
The prime minister’s visit to China for the SCO summit in Tianjin in August 2025 further reinforced ties, the report said. This was followed by the 23rd corps commander-level meeting, held in eastern Ladakh on October 25-26, 2025. Border personnel meetings with the PLA have continued across all sectors in a “cordial and friendly” environment, it added.
Fresh tensions in Arunachal
However, in recent months, fresh tensions have been reported along the Arunachal Pradesh border, and troop deployment in the sector has increased as a result. The Ministry of External Affairs in August this year described Chinese troops entering Indian territory as among the most “serious issues” and said that the situation at the border will have a bearing on India-China relations at large.
Doval’s most recent visit to Beijing occurred in late August 2026 for the 25th round of special representative talks with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi.
This was followed by corps commander-level talks held for the first time in the eastern sector – at Wacha on the Indian side on September 6 and at Damai on the Chinese side on September 7. Lieutenant General Girish Kalia, general officer commanding (GOC) of the Dimapur-based 3 Corps, led the Indian delegation. The talks were held pursuant to understandings reached at the special representatives-level talks of August 2025 and August 2026, and subsequent WMCC discussions held in Beijing and New Delhi, according to the MEA.
Following the talks, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, visited New Delhi for the BRICS summit held on September 12 and 13. This was the first time in seven years that he visited India after border tensions broke out between the two countries in Ladakh in 2020. Xi and Modi also held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit and affirmed that peace and tranquillity in the border areas remained an essential basis for the continued development of bilateral relations.
