New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing border standoff in eastern Ladakh, a Chinese military expert stated that India has the world's largest and experienced plateau and mountain troops equipped with some of the best weapons suited for such terrain in the Tibetan border.
The rare public compliment from a Chinese military expert, Huang Guozhi, senior editor of Modern Weaponry magazine, was published in China’s ThePaper.cn on Tuesday. His remarks coincided with the current standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The article reads, "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 200,000 troops in 12 divisions, the Indian mountain force is the largest mountain fighting force in the world.”
Huang further wrote that since the 1970s, the Indian military has established and expanded the size and personnel of the mountain troops on a large-scale, besides creating a mountain strike force of more than 50,000 troops.
"Mountaineering is an essential skill for almost every member of the Indian mountain army. To this end, India even recruited a large number of professional mountaineers and amateur mountaineers from the private sector,” he said.
Mountain brigades raised by India are reportedly meant for the Chinese border, especially the Tibetan plateau. It is perhaps the first time that a Chinese military expert publicly complimented their strength and strategic importance.
Referring to Indian Army’s presence in the Siachen glacier, Huang Guozhi is quoted by PTI as saying, "the Indian Army has set up hundreds of outposts in the Siachen Glacier area with an altitude of more than 5,000 metres, with 6,000 to 7,000 fighters stationed. The highest post has reached 6,749 metres.”
He further said that the Indian military is equipped with a large number of weapons adapted to the highland and mountain operating environment through procurement and domestic research and development. "The Indian military has also spent heavily on advanced heavy equipment from the United States, including the M777, the world’s lightest 155mm towed howitzer, and the Chinook heavy transport helicopter that lifts the gun, to boost its fire support and anti-armour capabilities,” he is further quoted by PTI.
He also highlighted the difficulties for the troops and reportedly said the mountain region, especially the plateau mountain region, is the most severe and difficult operational environment recognised by all countries in the world.
The Chinese defence also wrote about the “shortcomings” of the Indian armed forces, and quoted as saying that the Indian military is not yet fully self-sufficient in weaponry “Especially when India procures large quantities of advanced light weapons using Western calibre, ammunition supply becomes a big problem.”
India, China hold Major General-level talks
Indian and Chinese armies today held Major General-level talks with an aim to end the military standoff in Pangong Tso and a number of other areas in eastern Ladakh, a PTI report said, citing people familiar with the development.
The Indian delegation reportedly pressed for restoration of status quo ante and immediate withdrawal of a sizeable number of Chinese troops from all the standoff points in the over four-and-half-hour meeting.
The Major General-level dialogue is understood to have taken place in a "positive atmosphere" with an aim to further ease the tension between the two sides. The talks came a day after the two armies began a limited disengagement in a few areas in Galwan Valley and Hot Spring in a demonstration of their intent to end the row peacefully.
Earlier on Tuesday, military sources said that the two armies began "disengagement" around patrolling points 14 and 15 in Galwan Valley and another in the Hot Spring area, adding the Chinese side has even moved back up to 1.5 km in the two areas.
Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged since May 5 following a violent clash in Pangong Tso.
