R&D Economic Research & Business Development
There are some regional and international dimensions behind China´s breaking its silence. These are directly or indirectly linked to security of Tibet. The balance of power in South Asia has witnessed changes with the changes in the global power balance. The US which looked Nepal´s affairs through the eyes of India has lately become active. The policy change of China on Nepal in particular and South Asia in general is the consequence of new power balance in the aftermath of the US and India reaching a nuclear arms deal. Citing an instance that Nepal has become a regional center of new geopolitics, Nepali Times Editor Kunda Dixit in his piece entitled ´A New Himalayan Game´ has said that India and China had made an informal understanding on Nepal´s affairs some 22 years ago and that the relationship between the two countries has grown sour after the understanding was broken. Beijing had agreed to accept the control of New Delhi over Nepal and Bhutan affairs in return of India accepting Chinese occupation in Tibet. This informal understanding was reached during a meeting between then Chinese premier Deng Xiaoping and Indian premier Rajiv Gandhi in December, 1988. According to the understanding touted as a milestone to ease the troubled relations between India and China, Beijing had reportedly agreed to allow India to put Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka in general and Nepal and Bhutan in particular under its control. Dixit has made an analysis that the very understanding between New Delhi and Beijing has broken with the changes seen in balance of power of the world and anti-China demonstrations of Tibetan refugees that began in Kathmandu on the eve of Beijing Olympics two years ago. China had concluded that India had largely failed to control active engagement of the US on Tibetan issues after Nepal Army recovered a flag that read Free Tibet from a bag of a US mountaineer. The mountaineer had planned to hoist the flag atop Everest. Beijing then initiated change in its Nepal policy concluding that US had furthered Free Tibet campaign from Nepal and that the old understanding with India no longer remained in force. Beijing then changed the entire team of its embassy in Kathmandu and began piling pressure on Nepal on the security issues of Tibet. The remarks of newly appointed US Ambassador to Nepal Scott H DeLisi also make its clear that US has lately made its Kathmandu embassy active on Tibetan issue as well. During a parliamentary hearing three months ago, DeLisi had given interesting argument on how geopolitical importance of Nepal could be used to serve the US interest. DeLisi, who holds considerably long diplomatic experience in South Asia, had argued that US could play important role on various regional issues including Tibetan refugees and that US could engage India in crossborder issues via Kathmandu. His remarks not only indicate strategic importance of Nepal but also reflect the desire of the US to remain active in Nepal. This is perhaps the
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