KATHMANDU: The fifth edition of the Nepal–China joint military exercise, ‘Sagarmatha Friendship,’ begins today, Sunday, in Kathmandu.

A 37-member contingent of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had arrived in Nepal on September 5 via a Himalayan Airlines flight from Lhasa to take part in the drills.

The 10-day exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations, combat training, and disaster management, according to the Nepal Army.

This year’s edition follows last year’s exercise held in Chongqing, near Chengdu in China’s Sichuan Province.

The series was first launched in 2017 in Kathmandu, followed by Chengdu in 2018, Nepal in 2019, and then a hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic before resuming in China in 2023.

Nepal also holds similar military collaborations with India under the ‘Surya Kiran’ series and with countries such as the United States and Japan.

However, observers note that the increasing frequency of Nepal–China exercises has drawn close attention from India, the U.S., and Western countries, often seen in the context of Beijing’s wider Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) push.

The Nepal Army has maintained that ‘Sagarmatha Friendship’ is a routine capacity-building and experience-sharing exercise, not aimed against any particular country.