| Biswo |
Posted
on 06-Feb-01 12:45 AM
Hi Trailokya:
1. Given the geopolitical position of Nepal, there is no doubt
China wants to have some political clout in Nepal.Nepal has
wittingly or unwittingly been conduit of anti-Chinese activities
,specially carried out by Tibetan exiles, and China has been
in very uncomfortable position regarding this. I must say that
Chinese reaction until now has been exceptionally mature and
considerate(in comparison to the pesky Indian reaction to the so
called Kashmiri presence in KTM).One of the reasons for this is
the cordial relation China enjoys with all political parties and
institutions including monarchy(thus army) of Nepal. China at
present is convinced that Nepal's ruling elite are not against
its basic interest. This is the fact of present diplomacy.
Chi Haotian is one of the extremely powerful persons in China.
He is in the tour of three bordering countries this time,
including Nepal. The frequent tour of Chinese leaders have been
spurred by their belief that the personal relationship with
leadership of the world is more worthy than embassy level contact.
Chinese leadership always emphasizes visits, and visits from
each of the friendly nations (be it from Ethiopia, or be it from
USA) is equally given prominence in national media.They want to
prove that they are the genuine friend of the visiting eminent
person.They also want to develop personal relation with foreign
leaders. Not without any reason do Henry Kisinger still has
business interest in Canton, George Bush still visits China
frequently and in fact has one honorary doctorate from Nanjing
University, and so so.
But again, I surely don't believe that Chinese wants to interfere
in our internal matters unless we explicitly request them. They
won't care about our Maoist problem. They will always support
official ruling body of any nation. They will do business with
Maoists tomorrow if they come to power,and unless the Maoist
provoke them. It has been a consistent Chinese foreign policy. And
nobody in Nepal is in mood of requesting foreign intervention
to curb Maoists.No Nepalese , I guess, will support such move.
Our army has been receiving training in Chinese cities of Xian
and Tianjin. This training can be expected to be resumed in the
future also. May be we also buy some weapons there, though India
won't like it, and Nepal is not in position to incur Indian wrath
right now,especially without any reason.Indians are very narrow
minded and cynical neighbors. They even object if we make a
highway in our northern border.In this condition, all our
leadership can expect is Chinese cooperation in keeping sanctity
of the border so that Maoists,operating out from the bordering
district of China, couldn't get safe haven in Tibetan hinterlands.
Chi will surely agree in this.
2. King Birendra's China visit(Tenth this time) is often very
puzzling,and sans any agenda. He has good personal relation with
Jiang Zemin, and he is bound to get military honor,and 31 canon
salute in Tiananmen Square this time also. He will probably go to
some other cities also.I haven't seen his itinerary, but his
previous travel often took him to Xian, Chongqing and Shanghai
also. He also enjoys good support among Nepalese students in
China.The students in China are actively pro-king, even though
they may support Congress or Communists in home.(There is a
history ,that favors the king.)Again, it is very difficult to
say if King Birendra talks any thing substantial with Jiang, I
don't think he has any business interest there either.Until now,
King Birendra has not shown any signs of his avarice for active
power, so I don't think he is trying to gauge Chinese feelings
about his future arrogation of power in KTM. So , as officially
said, this will be only goodwill visit to bolster the bilateral
ties.
Chinese fascination with king Birendra is mainly because he is
the only stable force in Nepal. King Birendra has proven a good
friend of China and Chinese people, and trustworthy ally of China
in South Asia. Nepal and Pakistan form the core of China's south
asia policy to check the separatist movement of Tibet and
Xinjiang. Nepal has ,surprisingly, been a business route for
channeling China's cheap merchandise to India also.If there is
craze for Chinese goods in UP, Bengal, Bihar and other places
in India, it is because of our businessmen operating in/out China.
In this case, Nepal surely stands in a very important position
,regardless of its geographical and economical size,for Chinese
state.Nepal's democratic polity also lends credence to our support
to China(We are the only democratic neighbor of China that lends
unconditional support to it in every aspect).If we start making
more road along our north-south border, we uniquely stand to
profit from burgeoning Sino-Indian business tie also.
Wishing both king Birendra and Chi good visit:
Biswo
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