National 5 (Spotlight Weekly)

Implications to Nepal

Senior Journalist M.R. Josse discusses how improved Sino-US relations will favor Nepal's interest

By A CORRESSPONDENT

Nepal shares its border with India and China. Nepal has to face the consequences of any development affecting these two counties but there are only a few scholars who closely observe and discuss effects of Chinese policy and her relations with other countries on Nepal.

With knowledge and extensive study, M. R. Josse, former editor-in-chief of The Rising Nepal and former deputy permanent representatives of Nepal to the United Nations, in his paper Sino-US relations and its global implications with special reference to Nepal highlights different aspects of positive signs appearing in Nepal.

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In his brief introductory paper, presented at a program recently organized by the China Study Center, Josse extensively analyzed how improved Sino-US relations could contribute positive things to Nepal-China relations.†

"Had that not been the case there would have been grave foreign security policy implications for Nepal. In the heyday of China's revolutionary past, however, the impact of hostile Sino-US relations was felt here in Nepal, too. On the one hand, it witnessed American interest as "a listening post" on China, and particularly Tibet, second only to China-watchers' Hong Kong," writes Josse.

Josse has cited many books written by scholars as well as newspaper articles in his observations on the improved Sino-US relations and its possible benefits for Nepal.

The clandestine help to Tibetan Khampa rebels then in Nepal's northern belt by the CIA has been documented and was widely publicized by noted American columnist Jack Anderson. "With Sino-US normalization that form of US interest in Nepal, happily, has ended. One predictable side effect, though, was that American interest slackened off, a process that was further accelerated with the end of the Cold War," Josse writes in his paper,

At the program chaired by professor Dr. Mohan Lohani, participants agreed with Josse's views that there remains certain irritant in Sino-US relations despite improvement in many sectors. "For Nepal, it has become increasingly difficult to balance her responsibilities toward China, her helpful and friendly neighbor to the North, with demands occasionally made by the US for handing over illegal Tibetan immigrants to Nepal to the UNHCR, rather than to the Chinese authorities. One would like to see a far greater understanding from the US of Nepal's difficulties as well as of Chinese sensitivities, given that many of such "refugees" promptly proceed to the join the ranks of others around the Dalai Lama in India, many of whom then work for the independence of Tibet, naturally anathema to China," writes Josse, one of the well-known authors on Nepal's foreign policy issue who has extensive knowledge about Nepal-China relations. "This is one area that could possibly foul things on the Sino-American front, posing great difficulty for Nepal as well."

Explaining the complexities of Sino-US relations Josse says, "The endlessly fascinating subject of Sino-US relations is, as we all know, as expansive in scope as it is complex in nature. Notably, the development of that multi-layered relationship has neither been linear or smooth. Indeed, if anything, it has witnessed periods of intense hostility and suspicions. At other times, however, it has been infused with more pleasant sentiments ñ including romanticism ñ fostered by generations of American missionaries keen to spread the Gospel in pre-Communist China."

Other speakers too agreed that improvement in Sino-US relations will ease tensions in Nepal. "One of the objectives of the seminar was to analyze Nepal's position in the context of better Sino-US relations," said Madan Regmi, chairman of the Center.

Senior journalist Josse explains from historical perspective to the present situation highlighting implication of Sino-US relation not only in Nepal but South Asia as a whole. Since Josse is one of the few Nepalese journalists who has observed from close quarters all kinds of ups and downs in Sino-US relations and US involvement in Nepal in overt and covert manner during the heydays of red China in supporting the Tibetan cause.

In his paper Josse studies the implications of Soviet-Indian 20 years security treaty of 1971 and subsequent events taking place in Nepal including independence of Bangladesh with Indian invasion and annexation of Sikkim by India in 1975.

Although Nepal shares more than 1400 kilometer long border with China and Nepal-China has a century old relations, very few Nepalese scholars have tried to analyze implication to Nepal from the improved US-China relations. "Josse's paper helps to understand the implication of improved Sino-US relations," said Dr. Mohan Lohani.