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By P.R. Pradhan

Nepal, located in between the two powerful nations, India and China, has fewer options to play on its foreign policy. A balanced, equidistance and non-aligned foreign policy is the Nepali compulsion but the political leaders are violating the limit.

Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli is visiting China from December 2 to 6. China wishes Nepal to ink the long impending BRI implementation agreement, whereas, Nepal is trying to avoid it giving different reasons.

Sources say that recently some Indian diplomats became active in putting pressure on the government allies for not inking on the agreements related to the BRI implementation. Nepal joined BRI in 2017, but still, no projects under the BRI have been implemented in Nepal. It was believed that during the visit of the then foreign minister, Narayankaji Shrestha, to China, Nepal was prepared to sign on the BRI implementation, but just one day before he departed for Beijing, the then prime minister Pushpakamal Dahal gave an instruction to Shrestha for not signing on the BRI implementation agreement. Dahal had said that Nepal would sign the BRI implementation agreement after some months. Suddenly, his government collapsed and Oli became the Prime Minister.

The Nepali Congress is the main ally of the present coalition government. Congress leaders, including its President Sher Bahadur Deuba, known to be confidants of the Indo-West powers, have advised PM Oli not to sign the BRI implementation agreements viewing the geopolitical sensitivity of the country. Those who advocated for MCC and also tried to ink on the SPP — the American military support program — secretly, are strongly against inking on the BRI implementation with China. Due to the Indo-Chinese hostility at present, India is also strongly against Nepal adopting projects under BRI.

NC is giving the argument that Nepal is not in a position to take loans from China. Therefore, projects under grants will only be acceptable. Meanwhile, in the same tune, PM Oli has said that Nepal will not take additional loans from China. Nepal plans to increase its domestic production instead of taking debts from China, Oli said at a function. Until now, leaders in the government are saying that they don’t take debts from China but they have not clarified whether they are not taking loans from other donor countries and international agencies! The reality is that as Nepal is unable to meet its revenue target, just to meet its general sector expenditure, it is compelled to take billions of rupees worth of domestic and foreign debts every month. The country has not been able to manage funds for development sector expenditure. In such a situation, Nepal has also refused to accept any projects under debt even at very concessional interest rates, particularly from China.

We can understand that Nepal, which is bordered by India and China, has failed to maintain balanced and equidistance relations with both the immediate neighbors, specially, after the 12-point agreement inked among the seven Nepali political parties and Maoist in Delhi under the coordination of the South Block and RAW. The USA has already entered into Nepal with the plan of containing China and also India. This is a clear message that Nepal is also inviting China in Nepal to counter the USA. Not to forget, when Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, decided to join NATO, compelling Russian President Vladimir Putin to launch a war on Ukraine. Zelenskyy was provoked by the West, and the entire people in Ukraine are suffering from the war today. We have invited Americans through the MCC and SPP by irritating China. It can be very costly for Nepal.

The foreign-paid leaders, who want to enjoy power in Nepal by pleasing their foreign bosses, compete to please their bosses in Delhi.

Pushpakamal Dahal in a recent interview with an Indian daily said that K.P. Sharma Oli is playing a China card. His intention is clear he wanted to please his bosses in Delhi. Deuba is playing a devious role under the Indo-West design. Oli has also made it clear that he would not sign any agreement without Deuba’s spouse Arzu’s consent during his China visit. Arzu is also accompanying PM Oli during the visit. We cannot say that China, which believes in quiet diplomacy, is unaware of all these developments in Nepal. In such a situation, the Chinese reaction is obvious.