People's Liberation Army Day celebrated in Kathmandu

The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Kathmandu, Nepal, celebrated the 90th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on July 31. The Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong, Nepali Minister for Defence Bhimsen Das Pradhan, commander-in-chief of Nepal Army Rajendra Chetri and the Senior Army Colonel at the Chinese Embassy Liu Xiaoguang, former ministers, army officials and friendship associations representatives attended the event.

Speaking at the function, Senior Colonel Liu Xiaoguang said, "the Chinese people are peace loving people and will never seek hegemony but will remain standby for world peace." He also spoke about the PLA's contributions to the United Nation's peacekeeping efforts. He added, "For the first time in history, China has sent helicopters to the UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur. We also successfully completed the mission in Liberia." The senior colonel gave tribute to the brave PLA soldiers who gave their life for the peacekeeping missions.

The Commander in Chief of the Nepal Army Rajendra Chetri gave a congratulatory speech for the anniversary, and said, "Nepal has always been supporting the 'One China' policy and we do not tolerate our land being used against any friendly countries." He also commended the ongoing cooperation between the PLA and the Nepal Army, "China's goodwill, outstanding assistance and true enabling role in disaster response to the 2015 earthquake and post earthquake crisis have been highly appreciated by the Nepalese people and the Nepal Army." He further offered thanks to the PLA for playing a pivotal role in the modernization of the Nepal Army since 1988 in offering trainings and military equipment. He said the partnership between the two militaries will expand in the future due to the PLA's great professionalism and wide expertise. "Such qualities provide us lots of opportunities for future cooperation in nation building and disaster risk management."

In the last week of July, 11 Nepalese Army officers completed their training in China. Currently, eight cadres are undergoing training in medicine and engineering. In September, 42 Nepalese Army personnel are scheduled to go to China for trainings. Meanwhile, the Nepalese Army is also hosting Chinese officers to study at the Commander and Staff College, taking mountain warfare courses and para-basic courses. The high level visits between both countries have helped to foster the relation between the two militaries. Similarly, Nepal Army welcomed members of central military commissions, state councilors and Defence Ministers of China Chang Wanquan.

The special forces of Nepal Army and PLA held a joint exercise dubbed "Sagarmatha Friendship 2017" from April 16 to 25. The exercise marked a milestone for the strengthened relations between the two militaries. This can be seen from an increasing interest among Nepalese officers in learning Chinese, as a result of ongoing promotional efforts by the Confucius Institute and the Chinese Embassy. Furthermore, China has provided engineering, medical, and disaster management equipments for the Nepal Army.

Yu said, "In recent years, under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has been carrying out historical reforms on national defense military systems to support peace and development. Such capabilities are only for securing national security of China and will not pose threat to anyone." She said she hoped for further cooperation between the Nepal Army and the PLA under Xi's Belt and Road Initiatives in near future.