What is the interest of India, China and the US in Nepal?

Commentary

I currently live in Nepal, which is a tiny, landlocked nation. Nepal, home to Mount Everest (the world’s tallest mountain peak), is well-known for importing a lot and exporting little , while the Nepal people rely heavily on tourism for their income.

Then one asks: Why are the three most powerful nations–India, China, and America–interested in an area the same size as Illinois?

Nepal shares an Indian border. However, as the film “Grumpy Old Men ” showed us, neighboring countries don’t always get along. India and Nepal do not have good relations despite their cultural, religious and linguistic similarities. The two countries are not on friendly terms since decades.

In recent times, the governments of both countries have clashed over the Kalapani territory, a sort of no-man’s-land that lies at the eastern border of Uttarakhand, a state in northern India crossed by the Himalayas, and Nepal’s Sudurpashchim Pradesh. The territory falls under Indian control, but the Nepali population claims that it is theirs. India is not afraid to anger the Nepali people, so the Nepali government has become closer with China’s other neighbor. It is not surprising that the Indian government is concerned over the growing Chinese Communist Party (CCP), presence in Nepal.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) with Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka wave prior to their meeting at Singhadurbar in Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 26, 2022. (Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images)

Another country concerned about Beijing’s influence is the United States. In 2015, Nepal applied to be a part of the U.S. State Partnership Program (SPP), a joint security cooperation program between the Department of Defense (DOD) and foreign countries. Established in 1993, the program now has 77 partners around the world. In June of this year, however, Nepal’s government had a change of heart, officially communicating that the land of 30 million people was no longer interested in joining the SPP.

Why?

Some critics have argued that the SPP is closely aligned with the United States’ Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), a tactical plan designed to address the threat from China. It seems that Nepal has no interest in provoking its Chinese neighbours. That’s because Sino-Nepalese relations are supposedly marked by reciprocity and cooperation.

Nepal does not have a high income country. Its per capita income is a little over $1,000. Its infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired. Nepal requires all investment possible. China will only be too happy to help. Last year, Nepal received $268 million in foreign direct investment. China provided 71 percent ($188 million) of it. But the question is: Why? Why is China so keen to invest in Nepal?

First there’s a certain degree of FOMO (fear missing out). The CCP is concerned that India and the United States will try to get China in if China does not. The second is that Nepal, which lies between India and China in a geostrategic location, has a lot of strategic importance. The third is the abundance of minerals such as coal, iron and copper in Nepal.

There’s a fourth reason for China’s curiosity. As Lt. Gen. Chauhan, a commander with the Indian Army, recently noted, “the slightest stir in Nepal will have a residual effect on India and China, especially in Tibet.” Nepal is, in many ways, “the gateway to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).” Chauhan believes Nepal now “plays a vital role in China’s South Asia outreach and the gateway to the Indo -Gangetic Plains of India, in many ways the heartland of India.” The Chinese, he warns readers, view Nepal as “the soft underbelly of Southern Tibet and are now determined to keep it under their influence.”

Exiled Tibetans at an event honoring the 78th birthday of the Dalai Lama, at Manag monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, on July 6, 2013. (Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images)

This brings us to Dalai Lama. He is synonymous with Tibet.

In 1959, when China annexed Tibet, Gyalwa Rinpoche, the 14th and current Dalai Lama, fled to the Indian city of Dharamsala. The city, which is located at the Himalayas’ edge, houses a lot of Tibetan exiles, including the Dalai Lama. The spiritual guru, like us, isn’t getting older. He recently celebrated his 87th birthday. It is necessary to choose a successor. The Dalai Lama has spoken about the possibility of his successor coming from a “free country.” He has also floated the idea of an “attractive” female replacement.

The CCP may have other plans. Beijing made clear that the successor to Dalai Lama will be selected by Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterparts and other Chinese leaders. According to the Chinese foreign ministry, “the reincarnation must comply with Chinese laws and regulations, follow rituals and historic conventions.”

We now have the possibility that two successors could be chosen, one by the Dalai Lama or one by the CCP. Contrary to popular belief, Buddha was born in Nepal, not India. It would give the Chinese candidate a layer of credibility if Nepal backed the CCP candidate.

It is clear that Nepal has great significance. This is why the United States, China and India are interested in this multi-cultural, highly volatile country. It seems that Nepal is interested only in one of its potential suitors. As I finish writing this short piece, Narayan Khadka, Nepal’s foreign minister, is preparing to board a plane to China, much to the United States’ dismay. Kathmandu, at a time when tensions are high between Beijing and Washington is supporting the former while shunning the latter.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.