In keeping with current endeavors to ease palpable tensions between India and Nepal, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla is paying an official visit to Kathmandu to meet his counterpart Bharat Raj Paudyal on November 26-27, 2020. This was preceded by the visits of Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane and of Samant Kumar Goel, the chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). Albeit this indicates a desire by authorities to normalize the strained relations, the fact is that these steps way overdue and reflexive reactions to deflect expanding Nepal China relations. The question is whether Nepal intends on harmonizing equitable relations with its two Asian neighbours, or does it intend to play one against the other in a dangerous game of geopolitics, thus becoming a theatre of regional rivalry?
India by not being as aggressively inclined in signaling the preeminence of Nepal in its neighborhood, has vacated space for a bewildering surfeit of Chinese aid. More troubling is China’s overwhelming role in the delineation of Nepal’s attitudes toward India. Unless Nepal does a course correction, it risks losing its ability to take sovereign decisions.
By Vaishali Basu Sharma, New Delhi
‘Zone of Peace’:
“Nepal situated between two most populous countries in the world wishes within her frontiers to be enveloped in a zone of peace.” This idea was formally proposed by the Late King Birendra of Nepal in 1973. In mooting the concept of Nepal as a zone of peace the Late King had rejected the concept of his country as a buffer state. But in search for socio-political stability Nepal has throughout faltered in maintaining even handed relationships with either India or China. And at no point have the relationships been so contentious with India, or as conciliatory with China as they are at present.
Chinese Encroachment into Nepalese Territory:
Lately it was revealed that Chinese army and border police have constructed buildings in Nepal’s Lapcha-Limi, Humla region and are occupying the same. This incident is not without precedent. A document issued by the Survey Department of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2017 shows that China had encroached upon 36 hectares of Nepalese territory at 10 places along its northern border. The reports also alert that the Chinese Government is expanding its road construction activity in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and diverting the flow of rivers which act as a natural boundary.
The report alerts, “If this continues, hundreds of hectares of our land could go to TAR.” These and the latest reports of encroachment in the Lapcha Limi area have been firmlyrefuted by the government of Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli, to the extent of contending that no such document on Chinese expansion into Nepalese territory exists. The fact remains that the document exists and lawmakers in Nepal have been raising the issue in the Parliament questioning the apathy of Oli’s government on the matter.
Several news reports bring to light incidents of Chinese land grabbing in the Nepalese districts of Humla, Sindhupalchow, Gorkha, DharchulaandRasuva. In some villages in these districts the Nepalese government doesn’t have active control. The issue has not even been raised with the Chinese side despite the areas plainly being part of Nepal according to all official maps. Aconsistenttactic to squash all voices raising concern about China compromising Nepal’s territorial integrity is in place.
On August 14 Nepali journalist Balaram Baniya, who initially exposed Chinese encroachment in Rui village, of Gorkha district was found dead under mysterious circumstances.
China attempts to Cultivate Cultural & Security Ties with Nepal:
The Chinese attempt to encroach is not limited to land grabbing, it expands into the realm of influencing the intelligentsia of Nepal. Some years back it was reported that over two dozen China Study Centres (CSC) have emerged in Nepal – strategically sited in southern Nepal along India’s border these CSC are engaged in ‘propagating subjects of Chinese culture, traditions, teachings and economy to the population in Nepal.’ By last count the number of China Study Centres stands at 35. A growing number of Chinese scholars are following and studying Nepalese affairs. In fact, the China Study Centre based in Kathmandu was commissioned a study to find out why Nepalis join the Indian Army.
It is a systematic attempt to persuade the civil society and campaign that there are deep socio-cultural relations between the two nations.The Nepal-China Institute of Social Relations has launched a magazine called ‘Nechisora’ with the stated aim of cultivating the mutual understanding between Nepal and China. A constant themein its narrative is to emphasize that China treats Nepal as an equal, and conversely undermine the enduring and extensive ties with India as inequitable.
Beijing’s interest in Nepal is manifold. Not confined to economic cooperation, it mainly seeks to reduce the permeation of Indian culture in Nepal. More importantly, besides civil society and academia, China has been cultivating ties with the full spectrum of political parties and Nepal’s defence forces. Several Nepal politicians have been appointed office-bearers of Chinese government sponsored NGOs for the redevelopment of Lumbini, which it plans to control as the focus of a “Buddhist tourism circuit.”In order to undermine cross border activities of ‘Free-Tibet’ activists, and to gain control of the Nepal-Tibet border, it has also begun to invest heavily in Nepal’s security forces. It has committed approximately Rs. 2.5 billion military assistance to the Nepal Army.
China’s Escalating Political Interference in Nepal:
After some private Indian news channels aired reports about China's ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi Nepal has stopped the transmission of these news channels, except Doordarshan. According to several media reports Chinese Ambassador is very popular in Kathmandu and “part of her job, of course, is to wean Nepal away from its civilizational embrace of India.”Violating diplomatic norms, and keeping all the cards close she remains in touch with the Nepal Army chief, local NGOs, youth forums and trade organisations to prevent Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli’s Nepal Communist Party (NCP) from losing power.
To prevent the Oli government from collapsing because of internal rifts she persuaded meeting senior NCP leaders like Jhala Nath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal both former prime ministers, and aligned with the rival faction led by Prachanda. It is speculated that she was the draftswoman behind controversy around an 80-km road built by India as a reprieve for PM Oli, after which he issued a new political map for Nepal to consolidate his position and his popularity soared. Nepal justified including Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, in its new map as a retaliation to the inauguration by India of an 80 km-long road connecting to the border with China at the Lipulekh pass. The Chinese discontent was clearly reflected in Nepal’s reaction in issuing the new map.
Reorientation of Strategic Ties:
The tremendous increase of Chinese investments in the Himalayan country was to a large extent the result of restrained foreign relations between the India and Nepal, in the period after the Maoist insurgency. India’s then policy makers held back in their assistance to Nepalese policy, which was transitioning from the end of monarchy and a People wars into Democracy. Until the adoption of the new Constitution in September 2015, Kathmandu went through a difficult political process. Protest movements along the Indian border by Madhesi groups and the blockade in cross-border trade led to pessimism towards India amongst Nepali civil society and government. At a time when the Nepalese state sought economic stability and growth, the Chinese intervened but are now taking over as an overwhelming extractive force.