The video does not show a massive Chinese military buildup near Arunachal Pradesh; it depicts a PLA exercise in Northeast China

A video showing a large-scale military exercise involving tanks, armoured vehicles, soldiers, and robotic units is going viral on social media (here, here, and here). The video is being shared with the claim that it shows China’s massive military buildup near Arunachal Pradesh. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.

The archived post can be found here.

Claim: The video shows a massive military buildup by China near Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Fact: The video does not show a Chinese military build-up near Arunachal Pradesh. It depicts a live-fire exercise by a brigade of the PLA’s 78th Group Army, part of the Northern Theater Command headquartered in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, in northeast China. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.

We noticed that the video carries the CGTN Europe logo in the top left corner. An internet search revealed that CGTN, or China Global Television Network, is China’s state-run international media network headquartered in Beijing.

Upon reviewing the CGTN Europe YouTube channel, we found the same video uploaded on 13 November 2025, titled “PLA ground force conducts live fire drills featuring high tech drones, robotic dogs”. The report states that a ground force unit of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s 78th Group Army conducted a live-fire drill, showcasing new combat tactics and high-tech equipment, including long-endurance drones and robotic dogs.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) 78th Group Army operates in northeast China, a region bordering Mongolia, Russia, and North Korea, with its headquarters in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. Arunachal Pradesh and the Line of Actual Control with India, however, fall under the PLA’s Western Theatre Command (here, here).

Additionally, an X post by PIB Fact Check, dated 14 December 2025, debunked the viral video, stating that several social media accounts had falsely claimed China had initiated a massive military build-up near Arunachal Pradesh. The video actually shows a military exercise by a brigade of the PLA’s 78th Group Army, part of the Northern Theatre Command in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, and is not related to any exercise on the Indian border.

To sum up, the video does not show a massive Chinese military buildup near Arunachal Pradesh; it depicts a PLA exercise in Northeast China.