Veterans of paramilitary forces have demanded more battalions and better infrastructure along the India-China frontier. The association wants border outposts every 10km to improve security. "The border guarding force urgently needs more manpower to establish border outposts," said Ranbir Singh. They also criticized using ITBP troops for Delhi protests.
Ex Paramilitary association wants posts at 10km intervals, advanced drone systems, plus higher funding, while objecting to Delhi assignments for crowd control or student demonstrations
Veterans of paramilitary forces have demanded raising additional battalions of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and expansion of infrastructure along the India-China frontier to counter operational challenges amid the ongoing "face-off" with Chinese troops and the alleged Chinese transgressions in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Alliance of All Ex-Paramilitary Forces Welfare Association (AAPWA) has also castigated the government for pulling several ITBP companies from high-altitude border points and deploying them in Delhi to contain protests over alleged SIR irregularities.
Days before his retirement on October 31 as ITBP chief, Shatrujeet Kapur had flagged the ongoing face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops at multiple locations in Arunachal Pradesh and warned of a growing technological gap between the two countries. His remarks triggered a political row, with the Congress accusing the government of compromising national security.
Raising the critical manpower issue, AAPWA general secretary Ranbir Singh said the ITBP required substantial additional manpower to properly secure the frontier.
"The border guarding force urgently needs more manpower to establish border outposts (BOPs) every 10km along the hostile, high-altitude terrain to effectively monitor and defend the border. Besides, the force requires highly advanced, modern equipment to match the challenging operational environment," Singh told The Telegraph.
The ITBP, the first line of defence along the India-China border, protects the 3,488km Line of Actual Control that passes through Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
The AAPWA has also called for an increase in the annual budgetary allocation exclusively for the ITBP to increase its battalions, establish additional border posts and upgrade equipment and infrastructure.
"It is a matter of great concern that ITBP personnel have been deployed for law and order duties in Delhi, and it raises questions about the government's national security priorities. The border-guarding forces are specialised for international borders rather than crowd control and student protests," Singh said.
Last month, Kapur had said the China front was our "most difficult" border. "China is a powerful neighbour and India's biggest adversary, requiring enhanced capabilities to counter it," he said.
"Drones have become a major challenge and an opportunity also. It will be difficult to compete with China using traditional methods. They have modernised and invested heavily...," he added. "The role of traditional armies has changed since the drones arrived, and we must embrace drone and anti-drone systems in a big way."
Beijing claims Arunachal Pradesh as its territory. Twelve of Arunachal Pradesh's 25 districts share a 1,126km border with China.
India has in the past categorically rejected China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh and said such claims and attempts to manufacture baseless narratives cannot alter the "undeniable reality" that they are part of Indian territory.
Military veterans have expressed apprehensions over the Chinese intentions to change the status quo in the Arunachal region the way it has transgressed in eastern Ladakh, where it is said to have occupied close to 1,000sqkm of India-claimed territory since May 2020.
In September, India and China held corps commander-level talks for the first time in Arunachal Pradesh amid heightened tension over the Chinese army's alleged encroachment along the frontier and blocking of the Indian Army's access to key patrol points in the Taksing area of the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The talks were held at the Wacha-Damai border meeting point on the Indian side to address ongoing issues along the LAC in the area. Wacha is India's easternmost border personnel meeting point, located in Arunachal's Kibithoo sector.