China border has become ‘more alive’, India strengthening frontier infrastructure: Jaishankar
15/11/2026
New Delhi, Nov 14: India's border with China has become "more alive", requiring a much greater and sustained deployment of troops, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday, asserting that the country has significantly strengthened its frontier infrastructure and military capabilities over the past decade.
Speaking at an interactive session at the HT Leadership Summit, Jaishankar said the construction of tunnels, bridges and airfields along the frontier has gathered pace, enabling India to maintain a stronger deployment of troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
"What has happened today is the border with China has become more alive in a way. It has required a much greater commitment of troops on a sustained basis," he said.
The minister said the infrastructure development already undertaken had enabled the deployment of larger numbers of troops, while ongoing projects would help sustain the enhanced presence.
Jaishankar also said India's military capabilities along the LAC had improved significantly since the deadly clashes in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in 2020. His remarks come against the backdrop of efforts by India and China to normalise bilateral relations, which deteriorated following the prolonged military standoff in eastern Ladakh.
The two countries began taking steps towards restoring ties after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024, following the resolution of the border face-off.
Jaishankar said border infrastructure had remained neglected for a long time, despite discussions and plans, and that sustained attention, resources and policy support had been provided over the past decade.
He said India's capacity to deploy troops along the border had witnessed a marked improvement, adding that infrastructure development was essential to maintaining an effective presence in the frontier areas.
Responding to a question on the economic gap between India and China, Jaishankar said the two economies were of comparable size around the time of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's visit to China in 1988.
However, China made a major push towards modernisation and industrialisation during the 1980s, while India missed that opportunity, he said.
India undertook reforms in the 1990s but did not sustain them across sectors with the required pace and consistency, the minister added.
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