When friends betray

It hurts when India and China, Nepal’s supposedly closest friends, so openly undercut its interests.

Neither India nor China appear sensitive to the concerns of their precariously sandwiched neighbour. Their new agreement to re-open a bilateral trade route via Lipulekh Pass which runs through Nepali territories suggests as much. The 9th point of the August 19 agreement reads: “Both sides agreed to the re-opening of border trade through the three designated trading points, namely Lipulekh Pass, Shipki La Pass and Nathu La Pass”. Similar points have appeared in previous India-China agreements, most recently in 2015. That year, Kathmandu had dispatched separate diplomatic notes to New Delhi and Beijing expressing its concern. Mindful of Kathmandu’s stand on the matter, come 2025, the new agreement could have added a rider like “in consultations with Nepal in the case of Lipulekh.” Such a simple gesture would have gone a long way towards reassuring the landlocked state that its only two neighbours, as responsible members of the international community, would be mindful of Nepal’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as they look to boost their engagement. When they are at odds, for instance during the 1962 war, Nepal obviously loses. It was at that time that Indian military personnel occupied Nepali territories in Kalapani in order to maintain a close watch on Chinese troops. But Nepal, it appears, has to be wary even when India-China ties are on the mend.