HomeBREAKING NEWSDoklam Standoff: Nepal Chooses to Sit on the Fence

Doklam Standoff: Nepal Chooses to Sit on the Fence

Published on

Indian experts say Nepal’s stand reaffirms the country’s traditional approach to foreign policy; however, the upcoming Nepal visit of Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang is to be closely watched.

Nepal has made it clear that it will not take any sides in the ongoing standoff between India and China over the Doklam region. Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara said Nepal wants the two neighbors to use “peaceful diplomatic means” to resolve the issue.

image-15002

“Nepal will not get dragged into this or that side in the border dispute. Some media reports are attempting to drag us in favor of one or the other side, but I want to make it clear that we have not taken any side in this matter,” said Mahara.

Mahara’s statement comes ahead of Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s visit to India from 23 to 27 August 2017. Before that, India’s Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj is expected to hold bilateral talks with the Nepalese leadership during her stay in Kathmandu to attend a meeting of a regional grouping. Swaraj will arrive in Kathmandu on 14 August.

Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang is scheduled to visit Nepal on August 14. Nepal has claimed that Wang’s visit is development-centric, and should not be linked with the Doklam standoff.

“Vice Premier Wang is considered an expert on South Asian affairs and his meeting is coming ahead of PM Deuba’s India visit. It is not a coincidence. In recent years, China has invested a lot of political and economic capital in Nepal, which cannot be out of charity,” Dr Smruti Pattanaik, Research Fellow, at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, told reporters.

China is expanding its footprints in Nepal through investing in physical infrastructure as well as ramping up trade ties, she adds. And India needs to watch out that while furthering its multi-layered ties with Nepal.

India and China are locked in a tense standoff since June this year after India’s border forces allegedly blocked a Chinese patrol party from surveying the Doklam area for construction of the road. Doklam has been depicted as part of Bhutan in the Bhutanese maps since 1961, but it is also claimed by China. Since the tri-junction is of immense strategic importance to China and India, both countries have stationed their armed forces there.

Latest articles

France held in check by USA in Niger

Voltaire Network | 17 September 2023 The French government seems to be cornered in Niger. It persists in considering the junta that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum as illegitimate, even though the United States has already concluded an agreement with it at France’s expense. The Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Straussian Victoria Nuland, met for lunch with…

Historic auto strike hits Big Three at once

Home » U.S. and Canada » Historic auto strike hits Big Three at once Toledo, Ohio For the first time in its 88-year history, the United Auto Workers is striking Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (which includes Chrysler) simultaneously. When the 2019-23 contracts between the union and the corporations expired at midnight the night of…

A socialist view of climate crisis

The summer of 2023 was recorded as the hottest summer, at least in a very long time, according to the European Union Climate Change Service. The average temperatures between the months of June and August were abnormally high in many parts of the world, surpassing previous records. In one alarming study, the global ocean saw…

Autoworkers prepare for big strike with ‘practice pickets’

Home » U.S. and Canada » Autoworkers prepare for big strike with ‘practice pickets’ The contracts between the United Auto Workers and General Motors, Ford and Stellantis (which absorbed Chrysler) expire September 14. UAW President Shawn Fain has stated that date is “a deadline not a reference point” — meaning there will be a strike…

More like this

France held in check by USA in Niger

Voltaire Network | 17 September 2023 The French government seems to be cornered in Niger. It persists in considering the junta that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum as illegitimate, even though the United States has already concluded an agreement with it at France’s expense. The Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Straussian Victoria Nuland, met for lunch with…

Historic auto strike hits Big Three at once

Home » U.S. and Canada » Historic auto strike hits Big Three at once Toledo, Ohio For the first time in its 88-year history, the United Auto Workers is striking Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (which includes Chrysler) simultaneously. When the 2019-23 contracts between the union and the corporations expired at midnight the night of…

A socialist view of climate crisis

The summer of 2023 was recorded as the hottest summer, at least in a very long time, according to the European Union Climate Change Service. The average temperatures between the months of June and August were abnormally high in many parts of the world, surpassing previous records. In one alarming study, the global ocean saw…