The tensions between China and India, especially those related to the border, and the former’s ever-steady encroachment into Indian territory are not new. For decades now at this point, reports have been constantly coming out about how China is pushing the border between the two countries, called the McMahon Line, by increments without violating legalities, and claiming Indian land as theirs.
China went so far as to release a map in 2023 that included Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of its territory. For a very long time now, China has been claiming parts of AP as part of China, calling it South Tibet, while Aksai Chin was taken over during the 1962 Indo-Sino war.
A recent video by a news content creator has brought light to this again, especially given that mainstream media is not really giving it the attention it deserves.
What Is China Doing Near Arunachal Pradesh?
A digital content creator called Northeast Unfiltered has recently brought this to the attention, on how China has been slowly and steadily building up infrastructure and development around areas close to the border.
In a video titled ‘How China Is Trying to Change Arunachal Pradesh Without War’ posted on July 6, 2026, the creator started with how this topic is concerning for northeast India. He talked about how since 2017, China has renamed over 90 places in Arunachal Pradesh.
This is information that has been confirmed by reports and Indian politicians as well.
The creator pointed out how India’s response to this has just been to dismiss it, claiming that Indian authorities call it “vain and preposterous” and “will not alter reality.” Meanwhile, China’s construction plans have been going on steadily, with them building “roads, bridges, military infrastructure along the border.”
The content creator revealed how in 2024, “China announced a dam on the river that flows downstream into India as the Burma,” claiming that this would allow China to control water upstream and once that’s done, then no amount of official statements will be able to do anything.
Talking about how the “local community organisation in Upper Subansiri wrote to the government alleging the PLA has set up military camps deep inside Indian territory,” to which the Indian Army said “Not true”, while the state government said “We’re not sure. We have ordered a probe.”
The locals meanwhile urged action as they “are losing land inch by inch. Nobody can go verify. The terrain is too remote. No journalist, no independent observer. When nobody can check, whoever tells the story first wins.”
Summing up the whole situation, the content creator explained how China plans to “rename the place built on the ground, made verification impossible, and quietly push out the people whose presence was the clearest proof it was ever yours,” while “India keeps rejecting it diplomatically.”
He concluded the video saying, “India keeps building its own infrastructure at the border. But the predictable response to a slow, patient system only works if the other side is in a hurry. China isn’t.”
Read More: ‘Absurd Claims:’ 5 Countries Join India In Rejecting China’s New Controversial Map
An NDTV report has also confirmed the habitation of these areas near the India-China border. Satellite images along the Tibet-India frontier near the border in Arunachal Pradesh show buildings and areas constructed and inhabited by people as well.
The memorandum submitted by a welfare society of the Nah tribal community to the deputy commissioner also alleges to this, that, in the past six years, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has taken over ancestral land that the community had used for hunting, agriculture and grazing.
They further claim that China has also built infrastructure like roads, camps, buildings and more along all these disputed areas. Strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney, speaking with NDTV, said, “… India is confronting a sustained Chinese campaign to incrementally redraw the Line of Actual Control by constructing military outposts and militarised frontier villages, all linked by new roads across the high-altitude frontier.”
Meanwhile, as per usual, the Indian Army has dismissed these claims, publicly stating, “We have seen some media reports alleging recent encroachment by Chinese PLA and setting up of camps in Arunachal Pradesh. These reports are incorrect and without any basis.”
China has been developing this land since 2024, with the report stating that the village is linked by a road network “ranging from freshly excavated sections to graded and paved segments,” with “several branches” extending “toward other locations, including a route toward the perceived border with India.”
Geospatial intelligence researcher Damien Symon also revealed that the village established before “remains supported by military positions immediately to its south, including multiple helipads and posts that were visible in imagery dating back till 2013.”
Damien also said that the new settlements “also feature two helipads,” with “numerous completed buildings showing vehicles parked adjacent to individual structures.” Solar panels installed along the area are further “indicating that at least part of the settlement is already occupied or is being prepared for occupation.”
Now, India is not sitting idle, with the 1,748-km long Arunachal Frontier Highway (NH-913) being the highlight. The road goes from Bomdila to Vijaynagar and stops just 20 km short of the border. The estimated completion of this highway is said to be in 2029, with the project costing around Rs. 40,000 crore.
Further, new tunnels, bridges, connecting corridors linking the existing Trans-Arunachal Highway and East-West Industrial Corridor, and village development programmes to increase population in these areas are also planned.
The problem, however, in all this is the timing. While India is just now starting with the development, China has been preparing that land for almost decades now, with large populated bases already settled and communities established there. Sure, their construction is ever expanding, but where India is at the starting point, China is already at level 10.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: India Today NE, NDTV, The Hindu
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: China, China border, China border india, China border with indian states, China roads, China news, china arunachal pradesh border, arunachal pradesh border, arunachal pradesh, china arunachal pradesh, china arunachal pradesh border news, china arunachal pradesh border map
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