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For much of the past year, India-China relations appeared to be on a cautious path to recovery.
Relations between the two countries have had ups and downs over the decades - particularly over the disputed Himalayan border.
But events over the past few days suggest that the thaw that has emerged since the latest conflict in 2020 may be more fragile than it appears.
The latest concerns began after the head of India's border police force said Chinese troops returned in large numbers to disputed areas along the Himalayan border earlier this year and pitched tents several kilometers inside territory claimed by India.
The remarks by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Singh Kapur triggered a political controversy in Delhi.
First, it is extremely rare for a sitting official to make such comments. Sensitive border issues are typically handled by the federal government through its Department of Defense or Foreign Affairs.
Kapoor recently told a rally of officials in Rajasthan that the Indian and Chinese armies had faced off at multiple locations in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, and that the standoff was still ongoing.
He said the confrontation began in July, but both sides initially withdrew.
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He added that Chinese troops returned in larger numbers a few days later and set up tents "about six to seven kilometers within what India considers to be the Line of Actual Control (LAC)."
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India and China have been at loggerheads for decades over the Line of Actual Control, a vague line that separates areas controlled by the two neighbors.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet. But Delhi has always rejected the claim, saying the state is an integral part of India.
The dispute is one of the thorniest challenges that India, which became independent in 1947, inherited from British colonial rule. It led to a brief border war in 1962, in which India suffered a humiliating defeat.
More than sixty years later, much of the border remains undemarcated, with the two countries maintaining overlapping territorial claims.
The problem is compounded by the region's rugged terrain: shifting river channels, lakes and snow-capped peaks make it difficult to establish clear boundaries.
As a result, armies from both sides may meet head-on on the border, sometimes triggering violent clashes and diplomatic tensions.
The last major escalation occurred in June 2020, when Indian and Chinese troops clashed in Ladakh's Galwan Valley. At least 20 Indian soldiers and 4 Chinese soldiers were killed.
This was the first fatal confrontation between the two sides since 1975. India's opposition parties accuse the government of ceding territory to China - a claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has repeatedly rejected.
The conflict led to a sharp deterioration in relations between the two countries, with diplomatic contacts interrupted and trade and personnel exchanges affected. After multiple rounds of negotiations, the two neighbors agreed in 2024 to take measures to ease border tensions.
The two sides have since moved to resume direct flights and relax visa restrictions imposed after the conflict.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping also visited India in September to attend the BRICS Summit, his first visit to India in seven years.
These developments have raised hopes for a broader normalization of relations between the two countries. But the latest reported standoff has raised renewed questions about how much progress has been made on the ground.
After Kapoor's remarks, the main opposition Congress party again accused Modi of making concessions to Beijing.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote on X: "The Prime Minister and his entire governing machine are silent on this serious issue."
The Indian government has not clearly denied Kapoor's claim that Chinese troops have set up tents several kilometers on their side of what India regards as the actual line of control.
"When Chinese troops deviate from established patrol patterns, the situation in the border areas is disrupted from time to time," Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said last week.
He said the two countries were dealing with outstanding issues through military and diplomatic channels, but gave no further details.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that China "has always strictly abided by relevant agreements" with India and carried out "normal patrols and management activities in border areas to safeguard territorial sovereignty."
Experts said Kapoor's comments provided a rare glimpse into China's increasingly assertive military posture along the disputed border.
Shyam Saran, India's former foreign secretary who chaired several rounds of border negotiations with China in the mid-2000s, told the BBC: "This pattern of China testing the border at various points along the Arunachal Pradesh border has been going on for some time."
Such actions, he said, were "not enough to trigger an immediate war, but enough to create some new fait accompli on the ground."
India's opposition parties have long accused China of causing tensions by expanding its presence in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
Zhou Bo, a retired senior colonel of the People's Liberation Army and now at Tsinghua University, said that both countries have learned lessons from the Galwan conflict in 2020.
"Both sides should be more cautious to avoid such incidents in the future," he said, adding that Chinese media did not report on the recent confrontation in Arunachal Pradesh.
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Against the background of tense relations between India and China, there is also a complex economic relationship.
Despite their differences, the two countries remain major trading partners, with bilateral trade reaching $151 billion last year. But the trade balance tilts heavily in favor of Beijing, with China's exports to India accounting for about $131 billion.
India still relies on imports from China for machinery, rare earth magnets, electric vehicle batteries and pharmaceutical products.
That dependence means tensions with Beijing could have consequences far beyond the border, particularly for India's industrial and infrastructure projects.
Last week, China also announced restrictions on the export of tunnel boring machines used in subway and highway construction, saying the move was aimed at protecting national security and national interests. While these restrictions are not specific to India, they will have an impact on India's infrastructure plans.
Christopher Clary, a professor at the State University of New York at Albany, told the BBC: "China's policies toward India are designed to complicate India's rise, including India's ability to master advanced technologies and certain areas of manufacturing."
Similar issues arose last year when China restricted exports of rare earth magnets - widely used in electric cars, smartphones, wind turbines and medical scanners.
The move briefly caused supply problems for Indian industry and highlighted how Beijing's control of critical materials affects global supply chains.
India is currently working to build local production capacity for rare earth magnets, but developing the industry will take time and investment.
For people living along the disputed border, the consequences of tensions with China are more immediate.
"Villagers living in some border areas told us that they cannot access pastures due to Chinese intrusion and encroachment. This is nothing new and has been happening for a long time," said Tongam Rina, a senior reporter at Arunachal Times.
She added that this created "a sense of insecurity among the local population".
Villagers generally do not return to those "off-limits" areas to hunt and herd yaks, and they are not sure when they will be allowed to enter again.
The border dispute also has wider strategic implications for Delhi. There is growing awareness that President Donald Trump's focus on expanding economic engagement with China could limit Washington's willingness to support India in any future confrontation with Beijing.
Analysts say China may have little interest in an all-out conflict with India, but it may see benefits in letting the dispute continue.
As China's economic and military power grows, it may calculate that a prolonged stalemate will strengthen its position in any future negotiations.
For India, the latest standoff is a reminder that improved diplomatic relations may not translate into lasting stability on the border.
This article was originally written in English. We used artificial intelligence to assist in translation and was reviewed by BBC journalists before publication. Learn more about how we use artificial intelligence.
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