Oli defends joining BIMSTEC exercise

Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Tuesday defended the first Bimstec joint military exercise to be held in Goa during September 10-16 after ruling and opposition party leaders criticised his government’s decision to join the wargame.

Making a speech in Parliament, he said, “This (military exercise) is focused on capability building of the armies. We will not enter into any kind of military pact with any country or regional organisations, and we do not believe in military pacts too.”

Oli was forced to respond after ruling and opposition party leaders questioned the decision to join the Bimstec military exercise. The lawmakers said Nepal’s decision was a mistake and went against the country’s foreign policy stance as enshrined in the Constitution.

Officials said the proposal for the military drill was first floated by India, and there was concurrence by all Bimstec members during the grouping’s summit in Kathmandu last week.

The exercise will feature a unit of 30 soldiers from each member state. The personnel will share experiences and learn skills from each other in counter-terrorism and disaster management.

Assuaging concerns expressed by Nepalese politicians, Oli said: “Nepal has been conducting such military exercises with many countries such as India, China, Pakistan, the US and others. Before sending Nepali peacekeepers to UN missions, our army does military exercises. Have you seen in the Bimstec declaration that we are going to (sign) a military pact?” he said.

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