Army chief hints China’s role in India-Nepal spat

Hinting at the possibility of a Chinese role, Army chief General M.M. Naravane said on Friday that “there is reason to believe” that Nepal had raised the issue of India inaugurating the link road between Dharchula to Lipulekh Pass (both in Uttarakhand) at “the behest of someone else”.

Without directly naming China, the Army chief pointed out that while Nepal claims territory on the east of the Kali river, India has built the road on the west of this river.

“I do not know what they (Nepal) are actually agitating about. There are little issues as to where the trijunction should be. But there has never been any problem on this score in the past,” Gen. Naravane said during a webinar organised by the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA).

Last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh had inaugurated the 80-km link road which will bring down the time taken for the Kailash-Manasarovar yatra. Earlier this week, Nepalese foreign ministry had issued a “diplomatic note” to the Indian Ambassador in Kathmandu conveying Nepal’s protests over the construction of a road by India in the Lipulekh area.

Gen. Naravane said India will have to remain “alive” to a scenario of a “two-front” war along the northern and western borders, but noted that he does not foresee the possibility of every confrontation leading to such a situation. The Army chief played down the face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Sikkim and Ladakh, saying he does not see any “concerted design” in them and these things happen from time to time. “In fact you are coming to know only about areas where face-offs have occurred but on daily basis we are meeting at 10 other places where there is absolutely business as normal. It is only at one or two places this has happened,” Gen. Naravane said.

He said that sometimes these things happen when there is a change in the commanders on ground and “if a new commander wants to show that he is different from the others.” “There are dynamics why face-off occurs all of a sudden at a place where everything was normal,” said the army chief.