Miscellaneous
How Delhi views Dahal’s China visit
India is keenly watching Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to China but it would not immediately affect relations between Dahal and New Delhi, observers have said.Kamal Dev Bhattarai
India is keenly watching Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to China but it would not immediately affect relations between Dahal and New Delhi, observers have said.
They say both Delhi and Dahal have no option but to work together, arguing that India wants to keep its favour intact for the governing coalition of the CPN (Maoist Centre) and the Nepal Congress until the parliamentary elections are held by January next year.
Speaking to the Post, some observers in the Indian capital said the primary purpose of PM Dahal’s visit to China was to correct his “pro-Indian image” that is affecting his domestic constituency. “Ahead of the local elections, Dahal wants to give an impression that he wants to maintain a balanced relations with both the neighbouring countries,” said Nihar R Nayak, an expert on Nepal-India relations.
Nayak said Dahal was expecting more cooperation from India than he is receiving. Another purpose of his visit is to give a message to the northern neighbour that Kathmandu is willing to work with China on Nepal’s economic development, he observed. Unlike then-prime minister KP Oli’s visit to China in 2016, Dahal’s trip has not found much space in the Indian media. The mainstream English media have not given priority to Dahal’s visit; neither have they run any editorial on it. They are only carrying some plain reports datelined Kathmandu.
Requesting anonymity, a diplomat in Delhi said: “Prachanda’s visit to China is not a bilateral visit. He went there to participate in a multilateral forum where India is also participating.”
Indian government officials and policymakers had keenly followed Oli’s visit in 2016. “At that time, relation between Nepal and India was passing through a difficult phase and Oli was going to sign trade and transit agreements. Now the situation is different,” said the diplomat.
Rather, policy makers, observers and media are keenly watching Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan’s recent visit to Kathmandu and Sri Lanka. India’s leading magazine, India Today, ran a story on the Chinese minister’s visit under the title “Return of the Dragon” saying: “The recent changes of government in Sri Lanka and Nepal were heralded by many as the beginning of the end of growing presence in the neighbourhood. That conclusion appears premature.”
The magazine reported: “In Nepal, both nations will firm up the plans for the first-ever military exercises. “China has aggressively pursued closer ties with Nepal’s Army and border forces, so much so that Chinese security agencies have been spotted on the Nepal side of the border to stem the flow of Tibetan refugees,” the report says.