(TibetanReview.net, Oct24’26) – Despite steady restoration of bilateral ties amid continuing talks at different levels, India’s External Affair Ministry has said Oct 23 that the situation along the India-Tibet border was being periodically disrupted when Chinese forces deviate from established patrolling patterns, leading to avoidable faceoffs. He has reiterated the importance of border stability to the development of overall of bilateral relation.
“As we have noted in the past, the situation in the India-China border areas gets disturbed from time to time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns,” India’s External Affair Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has said at his weekly news conference.
“Both sides continue to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC),” he has said.
“The two sides have also agreed to discuss ways to improve understanding of LAC in appropriate areas for better border management,” Jaiswal has added.
“In so far as the specifics are concerned, I would refer you to the ministry of defence,” timesofindia.com and other Indian media outlets Oct 23 quoted him as saying.
“I would also like to emphasize that maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations,” India’s External Affair Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has said.
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Jaiswal’s remarks came a day after India’s Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Singh Kapur said faceoffs between Indian and Chinese troops were continuing at multiple locations along the border in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, despite ongoing talks between the two countries.
Kapur’s comments also led to the Congress Party to demand answers from the government about reports that Indian troops had been prevented from patrolling certain areas.
Speaking at the Himveer Samman Samaroh, an annual felicitation ceremony for ITBP personnel at the force’s base in Alwar, Rajasthan state, Kapur has referred to ongoing faceoffs while praising the force’s newly raised Shaurya commando teams.
He has said the Shaurya commandos had demonstrated their capabilities during the “ongoing” faceoff with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops at multiple locations in Arunachal Pradesh.
Kapur has said the commandos would be deployed in every border battalion as the force strengthens its combat readiness along the 3,488-km LAC with Chinese ruled Tibet.
The ITBP chief’s remarks came as the force steps up its modernisation drive, with a greater focus on emerging warfare technologies and specialised training.
Speaking ahead of the force’s 65th Raising Day on Oct 24, Kapur has said traditional methods of warfare were no longer sufficient to counter China, which he has described as India’s “biggest adversary”.
Referring to the role of the Shaurya Commando teams, Kapur has said, as reported by indianexpress.com, Oct 23: “We do not need guerrilla warfare these days. A specialised high-altitude mountain fighting force is being set up, which will be different from the Army. As of now, we have formed one Shaurya Commando team in every battalion (of ITBP), and two more have been constituted, so that there will be a full company in every battalion. Soon, we will have one full battalion of Shaurya commandos and our operations wing is working on this. This battalion will become our elite battalion and will get a special identity in our force for high-altitude operations.”