US Intrudes Into ‘Chinese Zone’; Pumps In Men, Money & Military Close To One Of China’s Most Sensitive ‘No Go’ Areas
EXPERT REVIEWS
By Sakshi Tiwari June 21, 2022
With tensions escalating between the US and China, the Himalayan country of Nepal has emerged as a new frontier between the two rivals competing for geopolitical influence.
While the US has denied any malice in intention, China believes it is an American ploy to court Nepal into the Indo-Pacific strategy.
In February, Nepal’s Parliament ratified a $500 million US government aid under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) after weeks of back and forth among the ruling coalition. The issue sparked mass protests in the country over fears that Kathmandu could lose its sovereignty.
The ratification sent alarm bells ringing in China, which shares a border with Nepal and has been assisting it with several developmental projects under its Belt and Road Initiative.
Chinese State media Global Times had then referred to the pact as US manipulation of Nepal aimed at targeting China.
It was followed by a flurry of high-level visits by US officials to Nepal. The most significant visit, however, was of the Commanding General of the US Army Pacific, Charles Flynn.
The US reportedly invited Nepal to join its Strategic Partnership Program (SPP), sparking protests within the country all over again due to it being a military contract.
Local Nepalese media reported that the US has been urging Nepal to join the SPP since 2015, and it forwarded a draft agreement to the Nepali government for review in April this year.
Nepalese Prime Minister Deuba has met with many parties since receiving the draft. However, in a rare move, the Army clarified that signing the SPP was neither on its agenda nor it would be.
According to officials familiar with the text, the six-page agreement contains ten clauses. It offers to supply Nepal with US$500 million over five years and non-lethal equipment for the Nepal Army.
According to the officials, the US has also offered to work with the Nepal Army in cyber security, terrorism, intelligence sharing, high-altitude training, humanitarian relief, and disaster management.
While the United States decried the news about a proposed SPP as false, China has taken it as an opportunity to have its displeasure known.
“State Partnership Programme (SPP) is not and has never been a security or military alliance. SPP has existed for 25 years worldwide and is recognized as a beneficial bilateral program,” said Charge d’Affaires of US Embassy in Nepal Manual P Micaller, Jr.
Chinese concerns about a military relationship between Nepal and the US emanates from the fact Nepal shares a boundary with Tibet, also known as Xizang Autonomous Region in the communist country.
Chinese experts believe the new grant will bring Nepal closer to the US military alliance. Any such possibility would pitch China’s principal rival in its backyard and near a very sensitive region.
The state-run Global Times report asserted that many people feel that the United States’ aim and intention to deepen military cooperation with Nepal has long been part of the US Indo-Pacific strategy to contain China.
The acceptance of the US-sponsored MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) program in Nepal in February, according to observers, shows that the West has strengthened its penetration and intervention in Nepalese politics in recent years.
The SPP is likely to go through a similar procedure. Qian Feng, Director of the Research Department of Tsinghua University’s National Strategy Institute, said the SPP would increase security links between the two nations militarily if the MCC has reinforced US control and influence in Nepal economically.
MOAR > https://eurasiantimes.com/conquering-the-everest-us-china-vie-for-the-pie-in-nepal/