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China, Nepal to hold Sagarmatha Friendship-2025 joint army training in Nepal: Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Aug 28, 2025 03:43 PM

In early to mid-September, China and Nepal will hold the Sagarmatha Friendship-2025 joint army training in Nepal, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of National Defense, announced at a regular press conference on Thursday.

The joint training, themed on joint counter-terrorism operations, will adopt a mixed-unit formation and mutual teaching and learning approach. It will include comprehensive drills for joint counter-terrorism operations, as well as training for disaster relief and peacekeeping missions, Zhang said.

This marks the fifth edition of the joint training series between the Chinese and Nepalese militaries, which will further enhance their joint counter-terrorism capabilities and deepen the traditional friendship and practical cooperation between the two militaries, the spokesperson said.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that both China and Nepal need to boost their counter-terrorism capabilities. As China and Nepal border the Himalayas, where devastating earthquakes can occur, both countries also have the need to enhance their joint disaster relief capabilities.

The joint training will contribute to these capabilities, and is conducive to peace and stability in the region, the expert said.

In last year's China-Nepal Sagarmatha Friendship-2024 joint army training, which was held at a training base in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality in September 2024, the Chinese side deployed some intelligent equipment, including a type of robot dog, a type of through-wall radar and a type of self-propelled ball-shaped reconnaissance drone, China Central Television (CCTV) reported at the time.

Expecting unmanned equipment to again be a part of this year's Sagarmatha Friendship joint training, Song said that the likes of drones and robot dogs can play important roles in counter-terrorism and disaster relief missions. He noted that Nepal is a high-altitude country, with its thin air impacting human troops' operational capabilities, unmanned equipment could provide additional help and boost efficiency.