The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has set up additional outposts along the China frontier from the Karakoram pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal and moved 40 outposts closer to the line of actual control (LAC) to keep a close eye on Chinese troops, the sources in the security establishment said.

A security official attached to the Union home ministry said the decision was taken after considering the ground situation along the LAC where Chinese troops are said to have made frontline formations in several sensitive zones besides ramping up infrastructure.

“The Chinese troops continue to increase their presence along the LAC in the Arunachal Pradesh-Sikkim sector and are also showing brazen aggression. The sector has witnessed several intrusion attempts by the Chinese troops that resulted in physical clashes over the past couple of years,” the official said.

The border-guarding force has set up nearly 40 outposts near the LAC to save patrolling units the trouble of travelling nearly 15-40km from their respective outposts for patrolling duties.

“Setting up outposts closer to the border has helped the forces in ensuring better patrolling and also keeping a strict vigil along the region. These outposts are located in sensitive zones prone to Chinese incursions along the frontier,” an ITBP official said.

According to him, additional outposts had been set up especially in the Tawang sector to fortify the frontier.

China and India have differing perceptions of the LAC in many places. In certain areas in the Tawang sector (Arunachal Pradesh), both sides routinely come face to face while patrolling their respective claim lines.

Indian and Chinese armies have been locked in a border standoff at multiple points in Ladakh since May 2020 where the Chinese are accused of transgressing and occupying about 1,000sqkm of India-claimed territory.

The army chief, General Upendra Dwivedi, had in January said there was “still a degree of standoff” between Indian and Chinese troops along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and the situation along the frontier was “sensitive but stable”.

The ITBP guards the 3,488km China frontier along Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.