&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "China thinned Himalayan troop presence in 2025, India defence report says; terms border situation 'stable'")
India’s Ministry of Defence has said that Chinese forces opposite the Himalayan frontier were scaled back in 2025, even as New Delhi kept its own army on a high state of readiness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In its annual report for 2025-26, the ministry 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 same document described Indian dispositions as “robust, well poised and prepared to deal with any emerging contingency” in all sectors of the LAC, which runs from Ladakh in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. The assessment follows the 2020 crisis in eastern Ladakh and later disengagement understandings, including at Depsang and Demchok in 2024.
The ministry attributed calmer conditions to talks at every level. It said bilateral interactions “at political, diplomatic and military levels facilitated ‘positive developments along the Northern Borders, leading to stability.’” Those contacts included the 33rd and 34th rounds of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) in March and July 2025. Special Representatives talks on the boundary question also resumed, with meetings in December 2024 and August 2025. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in August 2025 was cited as further evidence of a thaw.
Military channels continued in parallel. The 23rd Corps Commander Level Meet, described as a Senior Highest Military Commander Level Meet , was held in eastern Ladakh on 25-26 October 2025. “At ground level, Border Personnel Meetings continue with the PLA in all sectors in a cordial and friendly environment to resolve issues of concern,” the report said. The language is carefully optimistic. India still treats the frontier as sensitive, and the report does not claim that China has dismantled its broader military infrastructure or ended the possibility of sudden pressure.
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Over the weekend, PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS New Delhi summit, the 3rd bilateral meeting between the 2 sides since 2024. Both leaders met in 2024 in Kazan that started the re-set, which led to re-start of direct flights, the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage. They also met last year in China on the sidelines of the SCO summit.
