Nepal believes India-China should resolve border issue 'in the spirit of good neighbourliness'

Advertisement
Nepal believes India-China should resolve border issue 'in the spirit of good neighbourliness'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli BCCL

Advertisement
  • Nepal has issued a statement hoping that India and China should resolve any animosity over the clash along their borders through bilateral negotiations.
  • Nepal statement comes after senior members of its government were reportedly divided in the leading party’s support of China at a time when India-China relations were already under pressure.
  • Nepal recently updated its map, which got rejected by India on the ground of ‘artificial enlargement’.
Nepal has issued a statement on the India-China border dispute along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) expressing that the countries will resolve any disagreements ‘in the spirit of good neighbourliness’.

“Nepal has always stood firmly for regional and world peace. In the context of recent developments in the Galwan Valley area between our friendly neighbours India and China, Nepal is confident that both the neighbouring countries will resolve, in the spirit of good neighbourliness, their mutual differences through peaceful means,” read the statement by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This comes after the ruling party in Nepal, the Nepal Communist Party (NPC), was reportedly a divided house on Friday, June 19. Top leader leaders were questioning the country’s move to align with the Communist Party of China (CPC) at a time when relations between China and India are already under pressure.

“Going to the lap of China just because we have a problem with the Government of India at the moment is neither wise nor our party’s policy,” said one of the senior party leaders.

India-Nepal border issue
Earlier this week, Nepal passed a Constitution Amendment Bill to update the country’s map.
Advertisement


India has rejected the map since the new boundaries eat into Indian territory — including parts of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani areas in the northwest. It accused Nepal of ‘artificial enlargement’ calling the territorial claim untenable.

Nepal shares a border of over 1,850 kilometres with five Indian states — Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Nepal and China walk hand-in-hand
According to former diplomat and a distinguished fellow with Gateway House, Rajiv Bhatia, “They [China] have coordinated with Pakistan and Nepal to create embarrassment for India.” It is a part of China’s strategy to ensure that India aspirations for becoming a global power are dashed.


After Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Nepal last October, the NCP and CPC agreed to set up institutional relations at a party level. The aim of this was to educate and train party members on issues within the framework of ‘Xi’s vision’.

Advertisement
SEE ALSO:
India and China are testing each other at the Ladakh border— but it won’t be another war like in 1962, according to experts

The fear of China has put the global spotlight on India ⁠⁠— its raked up three Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships in the last 24 months

India’s hits back at China over Galwan Valley claim calling it 'exaggerated and untenable'