China's defence minister to visit Sri Lanka and Nepal

Beijing: Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan left on Sunday for official visits to Sri Lanka and Nepal, the Defence Ministry said.
China is vying to increase its influence in Nepal.
China has also invested heavily in Sri Lanka, funding airports, roads, railways and ports, and including the island nation of 21 million people on its "One Belt, One Road" mission to create a modern-day "Silk Road" across Asia.
The ministry, in a short statement, said Deputy Naval Chief Su Zhiqian would accompany Chang.
It gave no other details.
China's Defence Ministry said in December that China would hold its first military drills with Nepal in 2017.
In 2014, Sri Lanka allowed a Chinese submarine and a warship to dock at its port in the capital Colombo.
China has also close defence ties with Pakistan, and has been getting closer to Bangladesh and the Maldives too. Chinese warships now increasingly drill in the Indian Ocean too, as Beijing becomes more confident about projecting power far from its shores.