Revisiting Mountain Corps to deter China

The Tribune     18th June 2020     Save    
QEP Pocket Notes

Context: India needs to raise the Mountain Corps to counter China's aggressive behavior along the LAC.

Need and significance of the Mountain Corps:

  • Dedicated Corps: To comprehensively look at the operational dynamics of the entire border with China.
  • For Eg: Collate the entire intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance(ISR) canvas of Chinese activities, provide acclimatized battle-ready formations, with inbuilt rapid air mobility to respond to situations.
  • Create capabilities: To enable military-diplomatic negotiations from a position of relative strength.
  • The Mountain Corps provide multiple military employment options in mountain-specific platforms.
  • Asymmetric warfare: They enable synergizing the asymmetric warfare means.
  • Active defence: Can be induced in place of deep offensive capability along the LAC. 

Government steps so for:

  • During the face-offs at Depsang, the government-sanctioned the raising of 17 Corps with a non-defensive role along Northern borders. 
  • Manpower accretions and initial raising expenditure were considered for long-term investment to mitigate the financial burden.
  • Other options explored are: 
  • Building maritime capability instead of land-based Corps.
  • Induction of long-range missiles.
  • Raising of Special Forces units to interdict lines of communication. 
  • Raising small-size formations instead of a Corps.

Way Forward:

  • Need to revive the raising of the Corps for mountains with its integral force multipliers. 
  • Shekatkar Committee reforms: Substantial cost optimization can be carried out by utilising the manpower savings.
  • Focus on economic development: India must focus on economic development, with the ability to respond to the weaponisation of trade. 
QEP Pocket Notes