Arunachal CM denies Chinese incursion but says concerns need to be verified

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday (August 7, 2026) denied reports of Chinese incursions in the Taksing area of Upper Subansiri district, but said concerns raised by an organisation of a community living near the India-China border needed to be heard and verified on the ground.

Reacting to claims of a face-off between Indians and alleged Chinese intruders in Upper Subansiri district, the Chief Minister said Indian Army personnel guarding the border did not provide room for believing in reports of Chinese incursion.

“We do not think any incursion has happened because the Indian Army stationed in the border area has been maintaining the territory very well,” he said.

“However, we have invited representatives of the Nah Welfare Society (NWS) living in the Taksing Circle to understand their concerns and ascertain what has actually happened,” Mr. Khandu said.

He said the government would undertake a ground-level assessment to establish the facts surrounding the reported incident.

The NWS had alleged that members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army crossed the Line of Actual Control separating the two countries and occupied areas near Yaja and Togo villages in the Taksing Circle.

The Army had earlier trashed the allegations, insisting that they were not factual.

On the issue of allegations surrounding contracts, the Chief Minister said the Supreme Court’s summoning of the Arunachal Pradesh Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary (Home) over alleged non-cooperation with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was the result of a “one-sided hearing”. He said this happened because the State’s standing counsel was not present to place its position before the apex court.

The court had ordered a preliminary CBI inquiry into allegations that Mr. Khandu’s family and close associates received public works contracts worth ₹1,270 crore. The case is based on a public interest litigation filed by Save Mon Region Federation, an NGO, which claimed that the State awarded projects in violation of the procurement rules.