Kathmandu, August 15
The third edition of the Nepal-China military drill scheduled to be held in Nepal in August still remains uncertain, army officials say as the two countries are yet to start formal discussions about the event.
The drill, ‘Sagarmatha Friendship’, was launched in 2017 with Nepal hosting Chinese military personnel. In 2018, China hosted the event in Sichuan Province, and it is Nepal’s turn to organise the drill this year, an army official familiar with the development says.
Nepali Army spokesperson Bigyan Dev Pandey told Onlinekhabar that preparations were on to organise the drill. “That a date has not been fixed yet means that we are in the process of finalising the details,” he said.
The 10-day-long first Nepal-China joint military drill organised in Nuwakot remains shrouded in mystery as neither Nepal nor China divulged the number of personnel who took part in the event. However, a source says that less than 20 Chinese personnel took part in the exercise. Around 16 Nepali officers took part in the second edition of drill in Sichuan in September 2018.
The drill, which was initially touted as a joint military exercise, was then ‘downgraded’ to a ‘training’ to enhance the capacity of personnel from the two countries.
Nepal’s participation in a joint military drill with China has raised eyebrows in New Delhi. When the drill was first announced, the Indian media said Nepal’s decision to organise a military exercise with China signaled towards its desire to cut down on Kathmandu’s dependence on New Delhi. Retired Major General of the Ashok Mehta had said that China was trying to imporve its ties with the Nepali army by increasing assistance to the force.
