Chinese and Indian troops will hold their first joint mountaineering exercise on Saturday along their shared Himalayan border, state media said on Friday. The first such exercise between China and India will be held in Burang county, a border area in China's Tibet region, the official Xinhua news agency said. The exercise is designed to "enhance mutual understanding and trust, and promote security and stability in the border area", the agency quoted Chinese military officials as saying. It will be held in physically demanding, high-altitude conditions, the agency said without giving details. China and India are still working to resolve several border disputes, which are mainly left over from a brief border war fought in the high mountains of the Himalayas in 1962. China has a long-term alliance with Pakistan, but in recent years has said it wants to reduce tension between India and Pakistan by building ties with both countries. It held a joint anti-terrorism drill with Pakistan earlier this month.
