A new Pentagon report submitted to the U.S. Congress on December 24 has raised alarm in New Delhi, asserting that China considers India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh a “core interest,” placing it alongside Taiwan and other contested territories such as the Senkaku Islands in the East and South China Seas. The development marks a potentially significant shift in China’s strategic posture toward India, suggesting that Beijing’s territorial ambitions may no longer be confined to the western sector along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
According to the report, China’s leadership sees reunification with Arunachal Pradesh, Taiwan, and other disputed islands as a “natural requirement” for the realization of its long-term national goals. The document explicitly warns that China is preparing to take Taiwan by “brute force” by 2027, although it does not specify a timeline for actions against Arunachal Pradesh or the Senkaku Islands.
The Pentagon’s annual report, which outlines military and security developments concerning the People’s Republic of China, also highlights the growing strategic partnership between Beijing and Islamabad. However, from New Delhi’s perspective, the most alarming finding is Beijing’s explicit description of Arunachal Pradesh as a “core interest,” elevating the territory to the same strategic priority as Taiwan.
“China’s National Strategy is to achieve ‘the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ by 2049. In this vision, a rejuvenated China would have raised its influence, appeal, and power to shape events to a new level, and it would field a world-class military that can ‘fight and win’ and ‘resolutely safeguard’ the country’s sovereignty, security, and development interests,” the Pentagon report states.
The report further identifies China’s “three core interests”:
- The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) continued control.
- Promoting China’s economic development.
- Defending and expanding China’s sovereignty and territorial claims.
Significantly, China has now extended the term “core interest” to include Taiwan, disputed islands in the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands, and Arunachal Pradesh. This is reportedly the first time Beijing has publicly placed Arunachal Pradesh on the same priority level as Taiwan and other contested territories.
If the Pentagon’s assessment is accurate, this signals potentially grave implications for India. The eastern sector of the LAC, along Arunachal Pradesh, had remained relatively calm during India’s recent military stand-offs with China in the middle sector (Doklam, 2017) and western sector (Ladakh, 2020). The report, however, suggests that Beijing could consider opening a new front in Arunachal Pradesh in the coming years.
Certain recent incidents now appear in retrospect to align with China’s strategic signaling. In November 2025, Prema Wangjom Thongdok, an Indian citizen, was detained for roughly 18 hours at Shanghai Pudong International Airport during a layover. Chinese immigration officials allegedly claimed her Indian passport was “invalid” because her place of birth was Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing refers to as Zangnan, part of southern Tibet. Thongdok, a UK resident traveling from London to Japan, reported verbal intimidation, harassment, and degrading treatment during her detention.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs lodged strong protests, but a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, defended the action, stating, “Zangnan is Chinese territory. China has never recognized the so-called Arunachal Pradesh, illegally established by India.”
Earlier this week, another Indian citizen—a vlogger—claimed to have been detained at a Chinese airport for 15 hours over a video he had posted in response to Thongdok’s incident. Such actions, coming months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to China in September 2025 for the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin, suggest Beijing is signaling a more rigid stance on Arunachal Pradesh.
Historically, China had demonstrated willingness to negotiate over the eastern sector. In the 1950s, during border talks with India, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai proposed a “package deal”: China could recognize India’s control over Arunachal Pradesh if India conceded the western sector, specifically Aksai Chin, to Beijing. This arrangement, scholars suggest, could have averted the 1962 India-China War.
Zhou highlighted that the McMahon Line, the de facto border between India and China, was a colonial-era construct and not legally recognized by China. He emphasized that neither side should assert claims over areas not under its effective control—meaning China could acknowledge Arunachal Pradesh as Indian-administered territory, while India could recognize China’s administration of Aksai Chin.
Shri Avtar Singh Bhasin, former Director of the History Wing of India’s Ministry of External Affairs, notes in his book Nehru, Tibet and China that Zhou Enlai repeatedly stressed a give-and-take approach, pointing out the strategic value of Aksai Chin as a connector between Tibet and Xinjiang. Nehru, however, rejected the offer, unwilling to recognize China’s territorial control over Aksai Chin, leading to the failure of negotiations and the subsequent war.
Beijing’s hardening stance on Arunachal Pradesh is noteworthy, as it reflects a shift from earlier flexibility:
- It could be a classic Chinese tactic to maintain strategic pressure on India along the LAC, discouraging closer ties with the United States.
- It may reflect China’s growing confidence in its military capabilities, suggesting that Beijing feels capable of pressuring India in both the western and eastern sectors.
China’s territorial ambitions are deeply rooted in its historical worldview. Revisionist in nature, Beijing remains committed to realizing what it considers its historical claims, inspired by the territorial consolidation policies of imperial China. The Pentagon report emphasizes that these claims are integral to China’s vision of national rejuvenation and global influence by 2049.
For India, the implications are multifaceted. Firstly, the elevation of Arunachal Pradesh to a “core interest” signals that Beijing is unlikely to negotiate over this territory in the foreseeable future. Secondly, it increases the strategic importance of India’s northeastern frontier, necessitating enhanced military readiness and infrastructure along the LAC. Thirdly, this development complicates India’s diplomatic calculus, particularly in the context of India’s growing strategic partnerships with the United States, Japan, and Australia under the Indo-Pacific security framework.
Experts suggest that Beijing’s approach could follow a pattern of incremental pressure rather than immediate conflict. Harassment of Indian citizens abroad, assertive patrolling along the LAC, and the strengthening of local infrastructure in Tibet and border regions could form part of a broader strategy to assert China’s claims without triggering full-scale confrontation.
Meanwhile, India continues to maintain a calibrated response. Diplomatic protests, reinforcement of border forces, and strengthening of local administration in Arunachal Pradesh have been key components of New Delhi’s approach. However, the Pentagon report underlines that China’s actions are likely to remain a central challenge for Indian security planners in the coming decade.
Strategists argue that India must prepare for a “two-front” scenario in the Himalayas, with potential threats both in the western sector (Ladakh/Aksai Chin) and the eastern sector (Arunachal Pradesh). Such planning requires not only troop deployments but also enhanced surveillance, logistics, and coordination with regional allies.
In conclusion, the Pentagon report provides a stark warning to India: Beijing views Arunachal Pradesh not merely as a disputed territory but as an essential element of its national rejuvenation agenda. The report’s findings underscore the strategic urgency for New Delhi to reinforce its eastern frontier while engaging in diplomatic and multilateral efforts to prevent escalation.
As India-China relations continue to evolve, the coming years are likely to witness a combination of tactical pressure, symbolic gestures, and strategic posturing, all aimed at testing India’s resolve while advancing China’s long-term territorial ambitions. Arunachal Pradesh, once a relatively quiet sector of the LAC, now emerges as a focal point of regional security, carrying implications not just for bilateral ties but for the broader stability of the Indo-Pacific region.
