A day after Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Kapoor said that confrontations between Indian and Chinese troops continue to take place at multiple locations along the border in Arunachal Pradesh, India has said that the situation along the border areas gets disturbed periodically when Chinese forces deviate from established patrolling patterns.
Responding to a question on Kapoor’s statement, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday said, “As we have noted in the past, the situation in the India-China border areas gets disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces deviate from established patrolling patterns.”
He said both sides continued to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“The two sides have also agreed to discuss ways to improve their understanding of the LAC in appropriate areas for better border management. I would also like to emphasise that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations,” the spokesperson said.
On October 22, Kapoor addressed ITBP personnel — known as Himveers — in Alwar. During his speech, he praised the force’s commando teams for doing a “tremendous job” and noted that a confrontation was still continuing in Arunachal Pradesh.
Kapoor, who is set to retire on October 31, also pointed to China’s heavy investment in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its military capabilities, saying Beijing had made advances in conventional warfare. However, he suggested that drones could act as an equaliser in the changing battlefield.
Citing the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war, Kapoor said the damage inflicted by a smaller country like Ukraine on Russia over the past four years showed how drone warfare was evolving. He also referred to Iran as another example of the changing nature of conflict.
The ITBP chief also emphasised the need for developing drone and counter-drone technology, pointing out that it might not be possible to face China through traditional methods as it had invested a lot in the modernisation of its weapons and infrastructure.
“Through drones, even a small country can challenge a big country. We saw how Ukraine challenged a superpower like Russia, and how Iran used drones to challenge America,” he said.
Kapoor said, “The ITBP was raised as a mountain guerrilla force, and we were given border-guarding duty along China in 2004.”
“We need not leave our original function, and a specialised high-altitude mountain fighting force is being set up, distinct from the Army. We will soon have one full battalion of Shaurya commandos, as high altitude is our strength,” he said.
Kapoor said the ITBP was aggressively altering its defensive footprint, adding that the strike training for the entire force across units would be completed by 2027 end, with essential equipment made available across all forward border outposts to handle Galwan-like situations effectively.
He said the ITBP was constructing reinforced underground infrastructure “in a big way” along the frontlines to withstand modern warfare contingencies.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticised the Centre’s handling of border security and trade relations.
In a post on X, Jairam accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his establishment of maintaining a “deafening silence” on active developments along the LAC.
“While the self-styled Vishwaguru’s calibrated concessions to China continue, the DG, ITBP, has lauded, and rightly so, its performance in recent face-offs with the PLA in Arunachal Pradesh, on which there has been a deafening silence from the PM and his establishment. Corps commander talks were held at Wacha and Damai in Arunachal Pradesh last month after the Taksing face-off. Locals had reported that patrolling points had been lost once again, as in Ladakh. China continues to rename our towns in Arunachal Pradesh and is building a 60,000 MW dam that threatens our ecological and water security,” Jairam said.