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Nepal PM begins India visit, likely to call for peaceful resolution to standoff
Nepal PM begins India visit, likely to call for peaceful resolution to standoff
By Cao Siqi
Source: Global Times
Published: 2017/8/23 20:58:39
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba began his five-day visit to India on Wednesday amid an ongoing standoff between India and China over Doklam.
A Chinese expert said India may pressure Nepal to choose sides, but Nepal is likely to call for a peaceful resolution since it needs both India and China.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs said this is Deuba's first overseas visit since becoming Nepalese Prime Minister in June. Deuba is expected to call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, and will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to discuss wide-ranging issues of mutual interest and advance age-old and special ties between the two countries, the ministry said.
Deuba's visit comes on the heels of Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang's visit to Nepal, during which the two countries agreed to boost bilateral pragmatic cooperation, especially under the Belt and Road initiative, to further strengthen bilateral ties.
Many Indians consider the visit as a competition between China and India for Nepal and believe Nepal is getting closer to China.
"During Deuba's visit, India may pressure Nepal to choose sides. Although Nepal is sick of India's supremacy and suffered from the country's undeclared blockade, it still heavily relies on India economically and politically," Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia-Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the Global Times.
Zhao said Nepal might try to avoid being caught in the middle of the dispute and call for India and China to peacefully resolve the issue.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at Wednesday's press conference that international relations should not be a zero-sum game.
"Nepal and India are both important neighbors of China, and we would like to see Nepal-India ties develop healthily and also hope India views China-Nepal relations with a peaceful state of mind," Hua said.
Nepal has always wanted to simultaneously connect with China and India to turn into a hub. As tensions rise, Nepal will be increasingly challenged on how to balance between the two neighbors, Zhao said.
He added that if the situation deteriorates, Nepal might not choose to oppose India.
Prior to Deuba's visit, Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times reported that with China providing the huge financial aid to Nepal, Indian officials indicated that New Delhi could be under pressure to announce major projects to counter Beijing's growing clout.
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1062820.shtml
