Nepal performing double standard

Of late, the USA has intensified its activities in Nepal. If the USA’s activities are based on strengthening bilateral relations, it is welcome for us. If such activities are aimed at hurting any of the friendly neighbouring countries of Nepal, then, it is objectionable. The recent activities of the American diplomats are very clear. They are playing the Tibetan refugee card against China in Nepal. Recently, during the visit of Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights and U.S. special coordinator for Tibetan Issues Uzra Zeya, had visited different Tibetan refugee camps and interacted with the representatives of the Dalai Lama. The Foreign Ministry officials said that they had no information about such meetings with the Dalai Lama’s refugees, which, we cannot believe. Without Nepal’s security arrangements for such VIP guests from the friendly nation, a visit to different refugee camps cannot be possible. We can understand that Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his colleagues in the government decided not to include the visit schedule to the refugee camps in the formal itinerary of the visiting senior American diplomat. More surprisingly, while replying to the allegations made by the main opposition party UML against the present government’s wrong handlings on the foreign policy, Deuba has clarified that his government stands strongly for “one China policy”. He further claimed that he was the prime minister to shut down the Dalai Lama’s office in Kathmandu, which the other prime ministers were unable to accomplish such a challengeable task. Be that as it may, the present acts of the government are not based on Nepal’s stance on the “one China policy” and Nepal’s commitment to not allow Nepali soil to be used against any friendly countries. Moreover, Nepal’s present acts don’t suit the fundamental foreign policy principle of Nepal – non-aligned foreign policy. Many political analysts believe that Nepal, by discarding the basic principle of non-alignment, has become close to the Indo-West front. More than that, by ratifying the Millenium Challenge Corporation of 500 million US$ worth grant project, Nepal has become a member of the IndoPacific Strategy aimed at containing China in the region.

In the recent past, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nepal. During that time, Deuba learnt to have told the senior Chinese diplomat that Nepal was not keen on accepting the loan based projects for infrastructural developments under the Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI). At the cost of denying the BRI projects, Nepal received a further 800 million US $ worth of grant support to be spent by the US Aid. The 800 million US $ grant project didn’t need ratification from Parliament. Why the 500 million US $ grant project under the MCC needed Parliament’s approval, becomes doubtful. Nepali analysts have indicated that the provisions included in the MCC grant project are highly objectionable and, in fact, there are grounds for imposing American interests through the legal channels under the MCC. They have opined that by approving the MCC grant project, Nepal has already fallen into the MCC trap. The Nepali bureaucracy, political system, and economic policy, among others, are the subject for matching the American interests once it has been endorsed by Parliament, independent observers have remarked.

China, Nepal’s immediate neighbor in the North, is projected as the dragon, which is sleeping. The present acts of Nepal have woken the sleeping dragon and it is speculated that it would move forward with an assertive role in Nepal just to counter the Indo-American conspiracies.

Today’s China is different from yesterday’s one. Until yesterday, China was engaged in infrastructural development, strengthening the domestic economy and irradiating the poverty level among its citizens. Today China is on a move for becoming the largest economy and becoming a superpower country. Irritating China by Nepal like a country, thus, could be very costly.

The other serious drawback for China is that she has not been able to find a trustworthy force in Nepal. Until the existence of the institution of monarchy, Nepal stood as the defence wall or buffer nation between the two giant but rival nations – India and China. The Nepali kings were always alert to the security sensitivity of both the neighbours. The Nepali kings had to pay a

high price while supporting China in the international arena. Nepal was the country advocating for China’s membership in the United Nations. Nepal’s King Birendra is the leader who had visited China more than ten times. It is an example of how much priority Nepal had given to its relations with China. He had attended the inaugural session of the Boao Forum. Immediately after his return from Boao Forum, the Royal Palace massacre was taken place. King Gyanendra had to face the Indo-West sponsored 2006 April uprising following the 12-point agreement among the sevenplus then terrorist declared Maoist party coordinated by the South Block officials. The reason was that Nepal put its veto on China’s presence at SAARC as an observer. Today, SAARC is a dead organization as India is against it. The institution of monarchy was dethroned under the Indo-West conspiracy, which is clear to all of us. Whether China has understood it or not that she lacks a strong trustworthy organization in Nepal as all the actors belonging to different political parties are serving the Indo-West interests and playing a role in making Nepal a playground for them! What should China do now, perhaps, she is needed to review the history of cordial relations between Nepal and China during the monarchial rule in this country!