Two-three airspace perceived intrusion by China: ITBP

New Delhi: There have been two-three instances of airspace violations by China this year along the India-China border, Indo-Tibetan Border Police said today. “There has been two-three air violations. It happened in May and June this year. Three places they had flown. But they are at higher altitude and it is difficult to determine how inside they had come,” ITBP Inspector General, MS Bhurji said at the annual conference of the force. “There is perceived intrusion. It is difficult to give exact figures,” Bhurji added.[caption id=“attachment_502606” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Director General, ITBP, Ranjit Sinha. Image courtesy PIB [/caption] ITBP Director General Ranjit Sinha and chief of the 77,000-men strong force told reporters about how these “air space violations” take place at the India-China border. “There is no delineation of border between India and China. There is no clear marking. They may consider violations of air space by our side even if we are flying inside the border. Since they do not recognise it,” Sinha said. He said his troops have been able to keep a check on instances of “land intrusions” by Chinese side. “There are perceived (land) violations. Since the Line of Actual Control is also a perceived LAC. It is a grey area. Everyday we send reports. It is not right to say that intrusion has increased. The border is disputed. The LAC is perceived differently from both the sides. Air space intrusion is of the same kind,” Sinha told reporters. Addressing the annual conference, the ITBP chief said the government is looking into a proposal of establishing an air wing for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. “We do not have any air wing. I feel that the government is looking into it. Whenever there is a need we take help from Air Force. “There is total coordination between ITBP and other forces of the Union. Air force also provide us help. Our locations are chosen in consultation with the Indian Army. Our long range and short range patrols are done in coordination with the Army,” he said. The ITBP guards 3,488 km of India-China border besides other internal and external security related duties. To meet growing and new challenges, the force is upgrading its weaponry, training methodology, communication equipment and infrastructure, Sinha said. “The Central government has also taken up a project for construction of roads in border areas; work thereon is in progress. It is not only modernising itself with the latest technology but also augmenting its strength considerably,” he said. “This year, ITBP acquired land at Katihar and Patna (Bihar), Raebareli, Lucknow and Mirzapur(Uttar Pradesh), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Dibrugarh and Tezpur (Assam), Chittoor (Andhra Pradesh) and Sambha(Jammu & Kashmir) for establishing new formations,” the DG said, adding a central frontier headquarters in Bhopal and a sector headquarters and four battalions (4,000 men) were raised during the financial year 2012-13. ITBP is also recruiting its constabulary through Staff Selection Commission, wherein special and sizeable proportion of vacancies has been earmarked for recruitment of youth from border districts and areas affected by Left Wing Extremism and militancy. “This not only links border population with the main stream of the nation but also helps the force utilise their familiarity with terrain and locals for its advantages,” he said. PTI