China has reduced its military presence along the northern border with India, with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) cutting the number of troops deployed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), according to the Defence Ministry’s annual report for 2025-26.
The latest assessment points to a gradual reduction in the military build-up that had continued for years during the India-China border standoff.
PLA Deployment Along the LAC
According to the 323-page Defence Ministry report, China currently has around 10 combined arms brigades positioned along the LAC.
Another 10 combined arms brigades are located in traditional training areas away from the immediate border.
Based on the brigade-level deployment, the PLA presence along the LAC was estimated at around 40,000 to 50,000 troops during the period covered by the report. A broadly similar number of Chinese personnel were reportedly present in designated training areas.
The report, however, did not provide a comparable troop figure for the previous year, making it difficult to calculate the exact scale of the reduction.
Troop Levels Lower Than During the Border Standoff
The current deployment is significantly below the levels seen during the peak of the India-China military confrontation in eastern Ladakh.
Before the disengagement agreement reached in October 2024, China was estimated to have more than 60,000 PLA personnel deployed in the Ladakh sector alone.
The reduction suggests that the military situation along parts of the border has become less tense compared with the period when both countries maintained large numbers of troops and heavy equipment close to the LAC.
Four-Year Border Crisis Changed India-China Ties
The India-China border crisis began in 2020 and continued for more than four years.
The prolonged confrontation severely affected relations between the two countries, with bilateral ties reaching their lowest point in decades.
The October 2024 disengagement agreement helped both sides pull back from several friction points and created space for diplomatic engagement to resume.
The latest troop assessment comes against the backdrop of this gradual reduction in military tensions.
Xi Jinping Visits India After Seven Years
The development also comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in India for the BRICS Summit.
Xi’s visit marks his first trip to India in seven years and is significant because it comes after years of strained relations between New Delhi and Beijing.
The combination of reduced military deployment and renewed high-level diplomatic engagement could indicate a cautious effort by both countries to stabilise their relationship.
However, a lower troop presence does not mean that all border-related concerns have been resolved. India and China continue to have unresolved differences over the LAC, and military preparedness remains an important part of their security calculations.
