OREANDA-NEWS. American magazine The National Interest compiled the list of top five countries with the best marine corps in the world.

The US Marine Corps is in the first place. The publication highlights the large number of this type of troops: in 2017, it had 186 thousand active marines and about 38 thousand in reserve.

The second line was given to the Russian Naval Infantry. Its servicemen were called “highly trained and combat effective fighting force”, regarding their experience in operations in Syria.

The third place in the ranking was gained by the Royal Marines of Great Britain. Its distinguishing features are small size (about 7 thousand people), light weapons and specialization in naval operations, shore assault and raids and combat operations in cold weather.

The South Korean Marine Corps is in fourth place. It is quite numerous – about 29 thousand. The publication notes that fighters are trained by specialists from the United States according to American standards and performs the same function as American units.

China closes the top five. The authors of the material write that before the restructuring, the Chinese corps totaled only 10 thousand people, but after 2017 the number of soldiers tripled. It is also reported that Chinese marines have no real combat experience.