Arunachal 'face-off' remark by ITBP chief sparks political row

A political row broke out on Friday, October 23, over purported remarks by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Shatrujeet Kapur about a "face-off" in Arunachal Pradesh, the Hindustan Times reported.

What the ITBP chief said

Addressing troops at a felicitation ceremony in Alwar, Rajasthan, on Thursday, Kapur purportedly said there had recently been a situation in Arunachal Pradesh with a face-off at different locations "which is still continuing", and that the force's Shaurya commando teams had done exceedingly well.

He did not say who the face-off was with. He noted that the ITBP began as a mountain guerrilla force and has guarded the India-China border since 2004.

The ITBP posted a video of the speech on social media late on Thursday but later deleted it. The clip has since circulated widely.

Background in Upper Subansiri

Since July there have been reports of a standoff with Chinese troops in the remote Taksing area of Upper Subansiri district. Asked about it in August, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the state of the border affects overall India-China ties and that both sides had agreed to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation.

Congress questions the Centre

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the government of being silent on what he called a grave issue. In a post on X, he said the ITBP chief had praised the force's performance in recent clashes with China's People's Liberation Army inside Indian territory, and questioned the government's approach towards China.

The government has in the past rejected Congress allegations of being soft on Beijing and said it is committed to protecting India's borders. BJP leaders accused the Congress of politicising national security and pointed to Jawaharlal Nehru's record on China.

Wider ties

India and China reached an understanding in October 2024 to end the military standoff in eastern Ladakh, which had lasted more than four years. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India for the BRICS Summit on September 12-13 and held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Advice to troops

In the same speech, Kapur advised personnel to avoid alcohol and be careful on social media, warning that adversaries watch troops' accounts and can glean a lot from a single photograph.