The Indo-Tibetan Border Police has decided to set up more border outposts and deploy newly recruited troops in the Arunachal Pradesh sector of the Chinese frontier to “plug gaps” at sensitive zones, sources in the force told The Telegraph on Thursday.

The move comes following the latest claim by Beijing over Arunachal, and amid reports that Chinese patrols have been increasingly transgressing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the eastern sector while showing “brazen aggression”.

Beijing last week released the 2023 edition of its “standard map”, which shows Arunachal and Aksai Chin as Chinese territory.

“The ITBP top brass have decided to set up additional border outposts and deploy recently recruited troops in vulnerable areas that are prone to Chinese incursions in Arunachal Pradesh,” an ITBP official said.

The paramilitary force is the country’s first line of defence on the Chinese frontier, with the Indian army stationed behind it.

The official said the decision had been taken keeping in mind that the Chinese army had beefed up its frontline formations in several sensitive zones along the Arunachal border, and was also ramping up infrastructure.

“Creation of additional outposts and deployment of more troops will help us keep a close eye on Chinese troop movements in sensitive zones that are prone to Chinese transgressions,” another ITBP official said.

In February, the Centre had given clearance for the ITBP to raise seven additional battalions (9,400 personnel). Sources said three of the seven new sanctioned battalions were now ready for deployment.

Intelligence reports say that Chinese troops have
over the past 8-10 months been increasingly entering deeper into India-claimed territory.

More than 500 Chinese soldiers were said to have crossed the LAC in Arunachal last December and vandalised Indian military posts, leading to a clash between the two armies at 17,000 feet in Yangtze, near Tawang.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh had then told Parliament that Chinese soldiers had tried to “transgress” the LAC and “unilaterally change the status quo” in Yangtze, but had been foiled by Indian troops.

The two armies have been locked in standoffs at multiple border points in eastern Ladakh where Chinese troops are estimated to have occupied close to 2,000sqkm of India-claimed territory since May 2020.