New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday (August 13) said it was “deeply alarmed and gravely concerned” by the reports regarding Chinese troops denying access to Indian forces for patrolling in Arunachal Pradesh’s Taksing area, seeking an address from Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding these concerns. The opposition party said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s failure to protect the border against China will not only have strategic consequences in Asia, but also inflict “lasting damage on India’s credibility in the world”.“The Indian National Congress is deeply alarmed and gravely concerned by reports that China has denied India access to historically Indian patrolling points across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Taksing, Arunachal Pradesh. This is yet another escalation in Chinese attempts at encroachment of Indian territory-an issue originally flagged by indigenous communities (who had written to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and Government of India in June this year), which has been compounded by China building 628 Xiaokang or ‘well-off villages’ at India’s borders (as revealed by Deputy Chief of the Army Staff Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai in March this year),” read a statement from the foreign affairs department of the Indian National Congress.“The Indian National Congress is deeply alarmed and gravely concerned by reports that China has denied India access to historically Indian patrolling points across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Taksing, Arunachal Pradesh.The Indian National Congress demands that Prime… pic.twitter.com/56lLvHTZID— Congress (@INCIndia) August 13, 2026Salman Khurshid currently serves as the chairperson of the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) foreign affairs department.Since June, reports have surfaced raising concerns about Chinese activity in designated Indian patrolling points, including a the Shera 5 Point, and that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are steadily expanding control over Indian grazing and hunting grounds along the Line of Actual Control.Recently, a fact-finding team, led by People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), an opposition party in BJP-ruled Arunachal Pradesh, found that the Chinese PLA troops have occupied the Shera 5 Point near Taksing, in Upper Subansiri district, and were denying access to Indian forces, who had withdrawn from the site following a physical confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops in 2023.PLA troops later reportedly entered and dismantled the remaining Indian markers.Similarly, Nanga Pahar, traditionally used by the Nah and Mara communities for hunting and yak rearing, has been declared a strictly prohibited zone for local residents. The committee said that “this restriction has given the PLA greater freedom to push forward. The nature of the intrusions is well calculated, gradual and persistent, following a familiar pattern seen over several years.”Also read: ‘How Many Patrolling Points Given Up?’: Ex-BJP Minister R.K. Singh on Reports of Chinese Activity in Arunachal“As Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has rightly said, the Government of India must unequivocally defend India’s territorial integrity and stridently assert our strategic autonomy. Failure to do so will embolden China to adopt an increasingly aggressive posture across Asia. If the Bharatiya Janta Party government once again fails to stand up to China (after compromising India’s position in Ladakh, in the Indian Ocean Region, in West Asia etc), it will carry serious long-term strategic consequences in Asia, and inflict lasting damage on India’s credibility in the world,” the Congress said.The opposition party has demanded that the prime minister “immediately address the nation about these concerning developments” and that the Union government constitute and dispatch a multi-party delegation to assess the situation on ground.They also said that Prime Minister Modi must raise this issue with President Xi Jinping, during his visit to India next month. “The Prime Minister must prioritise India’s national security over the pursuit of personal political capital and performative diplomacy,” the Congress said.Earlier today, former Union minister R.K. Singh, a former IAS officer and former BJP MP from Bihar’s Arrah, posted a video on X demanding answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence minister Rajnath Singh as to how many patrolling points the Indian army has “given up” since 2014.“I read a report today which gives me worry, and it should worry all the citizens of our country. It appears that we have abandoned a patrolling point called Shera 5 in Taksing in Arunachal, and the Chinese have established a prominent position there,” he said.