NEW DELHI

India and China's latest border dispute may have involved scuffles and troop maneuvers on the ground, but, the Indian Army has won a rare public compliment from a Chinese military expert who said 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.

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"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," Huang Guozhi, senior editor of Modern Weaponry magazine, wrote in an article published by China’s thepaper.cn on Tuesday.

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His remarks coincided with the current military standoff between India-China troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Mountain brigades being raised by India are mostly meant for the Chinese border, especially the Tibetan plateau, and it is perhaps the first time a Chinese military expert publicly complimented their strength and strategic importance.

"With more than 200,000 troops in 12 divisions, the Indian mountain force is the largest mountain fighting force in the world,” Huang wrote.

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

(With inputs from PTI)