Karakoram-2026 : GS TIMES IAS-PCS

It was the first joint army-level exercise between China and Pakistan.

About Karakoram-2026

Participants: People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China and Pakistan Army.
Dates: October 14–22, 2026.
Location: Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, which borders the Indian Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Focus: High-altitude military operations and cooperation between the two armies.
Strategic relevance: The exercise is relevant to the PLA’s Western Theatre Command, which is responsible for the region bordering India.

Earlier China–Pakistan Military Exercises

The exercise expands military cooperation beyond earlier naval, air and counterterrorism exercises:

China–Pakistan Strategic Partnership

China and Pakistan maintain a longstanding strategic, economic and military partnership, commonly described as the China–Pakistan nexus.
An important historical development was the 1963 Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement.
Under the agreement, Pakistan ceded the Shaksgam Valley, part of the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region, to China. India does not recognise this arrangement and considers the territory part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Source: IE