Kathmandu – A team of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) arrived in Kathmandu on Friday to take part in a joint military exercise with the Nepali Army. The team, consisting of 37 personnel, flew in via Himalayan Airlines through Lhasa, according to military sources.

The fifth edition of the joint exercise, named “Sagarmatha Friendship,” will begin on Saturday and run for ten days. The training will focus on counter-terrorism, combat tactics, and disaster management.

The fourth edition of the exercise was held last year in Sichuan Province, China. The first drill was conducted in Kathmandu in 2017, the second in Chengdu, China in 2018, and the third in Nepal in 2019. The program was suspended for some years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has now resumed.

Defense Ministry spokesperson Manoj Kumar Acharya said the exercise is part of a regular program aimed at capacity building and experience sharing, emphasizing that such military drills with countries like India, the United States, and China are not targeted against any nation.

However, China’s growing military cooperation with Nepal, including such joint exercises and its push for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, has drawn concern from India, the United States, and other Western countries. Nepal, meanwhile, also conducts regular military exercises with both India and the United States.