NEW DELHI: Over 200 ITBP officers and jawans have trained in Mandarin for "better interaction" during border standoffs with Chinese troops, a top official said on Wednesday.
ITBP Director-General Surjeet Singh Deswal, while interacting with reporters on the eve of the 58th Raising Day of the force, also rejected reports that said the operational command of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police could be given to the Army.
"We have trained more than 200 personnel in speaking and understanding the Mandarin language. We are regularly training our personnel. This step will help them remove misunderstanding and better the interaction-level during standoffs," he said.
Asked what is the view of the force on reports that its operational command should be given to the Army, Deswal said his force was "as good as the Army".
"We are a well-trained force with a long experience of 57 years. We are equipped as good as the Army. Our training is as good as them. We are sister forces and we are working in a very, very coordinated and harmonious situation and the situation will continue," the DG said.
The 90,000-strength force was raised in 1962 in the wake of the Chinese aggression and since then it mans the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control with China.