Amid LAC Tension, Union Cabinet Sanctions 7 New ITBP Battalions; 9,400 Personnel for Sino-India Border

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday sanctioned seven new battalions and an operational border base with a fresh strength of 9,400 personnel for the India-China LAC guarding force Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), officials said. The proposal was cleared after the meeting of the cabinet that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the government sanction, the fresh manpower will be utilised for manning 47 new border posts and a dozen 'staging camps' or troops bases along this frontier. The armies of India and China are engaged in a standoff in Ladakh since 2020.

The about 90,000 personnel strong ITBP was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Chinese aggression and it is tasked to guard the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) on India's eastern flank.

The situation along the LAC has remained tense and the same has been confirmed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar time and again. 

India and China held a fresh round of high-level military talks on December 20 with a focus on resolving the remaining issues in eastern Ladakh. A joint statement said the talks were "frank and in-depth" keeping in line with the guidance provided by the leaders of the two countries to work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.

"The 17th round of India-China Corps Commander level meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Chinese side on December 20," Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said at a media briefing, reading from the statement.