"Both exercises are aimed at enhancing mutual understanding and friendship, deepening defense cooperation and strengthening the armies' operational abilities," he said.

According to Yang, both exercises focus on field survival training. Exercise Kowari includes predation and making fire in the wild, positioning in the jungle and building shelters, while Exercise Panda-Kangaroo includes canoeing, cavern survival and mountain climbing.

A fourteen-member team from the Guangzhou Military Area Command of the People's Liberation Army set off for the exercises in Australia on Wednesday.

Deputy Commander of the Australian Army 2nd Division, Brigadier Damian Cantwell said the three-week activity would see the troops undergoing specialist training from NORFORCE, the Australian Army’s survival experts, followed by a survival exercise to put their skills to the test.

“This will be an unforgettable experience for the soldiers from the three countries,” Brigadier Cantwell said.

“Despite the obvious cultural and language differences, they will work together in order to survive in arduous conditions. They will have neither food nor water supplied to them, so will have to work as a team, using the skills we give them, to get through.

“Our experience last year was that the participants quickly built strong bonds of trust and friendship in their mixed teams, and coped amazingly well with conditions that are hot, dry, and very challenging.

“Our countries already cooperate at a number of levels through trade, regional humanitarian projects and joint naval exercises, and this is another way we can learn from each other and build friendships forged through adversity,” he said.

The 30 exercise participants, 10 from each country, will be supported by about 120 staff from the Australian Army.