Tawang: Having already given a bloody nose to the People’s Liberation Army troops in Eastern Ladakh during face-offs in the ongoing conflict, the ITBP in the sensitive Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh says its men were on a high readiness mode on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Chinese won’t be able to spring any surprises in this sector. In a visit to the forward posts on the LAC from where the Chinese territory could be seen in the Tawang sector, Team ANI witnessed the high preparedness levels of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troops and the infrastructure developed for rapid forward deployments here in recent times.

“When incidents (transgression by Chinese Army in Eastern Ladakh) like this happen, we have to remain on high alert mode so that such unforeseen incidents are not allowed to happen and there are no surprises. As you can see that though there are extreme cold conditions which make things difficult, our men are on a very high alert and keeping an eye on the border all the time,” ITBP’s 55 battalion commander Commandant I B Jha told ANI at a forward location here.

“No one can surprise us here. We have made a commitment to the country to protect it and we are doing our duties and maintaining high preparedness levels,” the officer added.
The ITBP has played an important role in the ongoing conflict with the Chinese troops in both eastern Ladakh as well as the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh.

In the initial violent face-offs, the ITBP had multiple encounters with the Chinese troops attempting to transgress in the Pangong Lake, Finger area and the Patrolling Points 14,15, 17 and 17A.

During the hand to hand fight, despite being outnumbered not only prevented the Chinese troops from advancing, they also caused several injuries on the Chinese side.
Commandant Jha said the bravery shown by ITBP troops in the early face-offs with the Chinese in April-May timeframe has highly inspired the troops deployed in the Arunachal sector.

Also read: China, India in ‘candid communication’ to disengage troops at LAC, says Chinese military