The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will set up more border outposts in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh to keep a close eye on the Chinese troops amid the ongoing standoff with the People’s Liberation Army, sources in the paramilitary force said.

“During a recent meeting, the top brass decided to increase border outposts to ensure better patrolling along the disputed Line of Actual Control. Setting up additional border outposts will help in keeping a close watch on the movement of the Chinese troops in the sensitive zones prone to transgressions by the PLA,” an ITBP official said.

The ITBP guards the 3,488km India-China border along Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. A large part of the border is disputed.

The paramilitary force is the first line of defence and the Indian Army remains behind it. Along the Chinese side too the People’s Armed Police, also a paramilitary force, guards the frontier while the PLA is stationed behind it.

At present, there are around 200 outposts of the ITBP along the China frontier.

The Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a face-off at multiple points in Ladakh since May 2020. A ground assessment recently suggested a massive Chinese build-up at the Depsang Plains and Hot Springs.