China’s military expert says, India has the world’s largest and experienced mountain army

Team Udayavani, Jun 9, 2020, 8:29 PM IST

A military expert affiliated to China’s leading maker of equipment for the People’s Liberation Army said that India has the world’s largest and most experienced troops trained for high-altitude battles.

Huang Guozhi, senior editor of Modern Weaponry magazine, said, “ At present, the world’s largest and experienced country with plateau and mountain troops is neither the US, Russia, nor any European powerhouse, but India”

“With more than 200000 troops in 12 divisions, the Indian mountain force is the largest mountain fighting force in the world” he added

He also said that the Indian military has established and expanded the size and personnel of the mountain army on a large-scale since the 1970s and also plans to create a mountain strike force of more than 50,000 troops

Huang also listed flaws of the Indian army mountain troops including lack of self-sufficiency in weaponry and ammunition especially needed for western weaponry.

The magazine is considered a comprehensive military and defence journal and is affiliated to the state-owned China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO)

The write up in the magazine comes at a time when there is tension between India and China in many areas including East Ladakh. However, both India and China have called for commander-level talks between the two countries.