Chinese surveyors left for the China-Nepal border on Wednesday to begin the third joint border survey with Nepal.

The surveyors, divided into five teams, will join their Nepalese counterparts on Thursday at Xigaze, a major city in southern Tibet.

The survey, which will be completed by the end of September this year, aims to accurately map the 98 boundary pillars and 79 markers along the 1,400-km-long border.

The findings of the operation are expected to be published by the end of next year.

The two countries will use global positioning system (GPS) technology to survey markers, and the Geographic Information System (GIS) to draft a new boundary agreement.

China and Nepal signed a boundary treaty in 1961 and demarcated the border in 1963. Previous joint border inspections were carried out in 1979 and 1988.

(Xinhua News Agency April 6, 2006)