Karakoram 2026: Inside China-Pakistan Joint Military Training in Xinjiang — SkimNews
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- China and Pakistan began the nine-day Karakoram 2026 joint military training on October 14 in Korla, Xinjiang, focusing on counterterrorism in high-altitude areas.
- The exercise involved skills training in UAV operation, mobile target search and firing, long-range sniping, and joint command and live-force exercises.
- China provided all equipment for the drills, including Type 191 rifles, Type 201 squad machine guns, Type 11 armored assault vehicles, and anti-unmanned systems.
- Karakoram 2026 is the first such exercise to involve regular army forces from both countries, moving beyond specialized counterterrorism units.
- The training is designed for the difficult terrain of northern Pakistan and China's Xinjiang region, areas complicated by extreme weather.
- The institutionalization of cooperation across air, naval, and now army services creates a comprehensive framework for China-Pakistan defense relations.
Why it matters: The shift to regular army forces deepens military interoperability between the two allies, directly supporting Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts against cross-border threats from Afghanistan while securing China's economic and personnel investments under CPEC. This institutionalizes a three-service defense framework.
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