A Sagacious Decision

The issue of the State Partnership Programme (SPP) recently captured the nation's attention after Nepali media reported that the government would sign an agreement with the United States of Amercia (USA) on SPP during Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's upcoming visit to that country. After a letter written during the tenure of former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and dispatched to the USA by the Nepali Army in 2017 was leaked, the matter snowballed into a political debate spurring many opposition members to raise the matter in parliament and on different other platforms. 

Critics say the SPP is a part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy and thus an American military programme. They maintained that if Nepal signed the accord, the country could become a part of the military alliance with the USA, which would not be favourable for a nation like Nepal, a strong adherent to the Non-Aligned Movement. Those pressurising the government against the agreement with the USA on SPP stated the agreement would aggravate Nepal's extremely sensitive geopolitical situation. Once the SPP is signed, it will dent the country's credibility as a neutral nation that has so far refrained from joining existing military blocs spearheaded by the two world superpowers.

It appears that the uproar over SPP has paid off now as Nepal decided not to sign the agreement with the USA. Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka, as instructed by the International Relations Committee of Parliament, ruled out any chance of penning the controversial agreement as the matter has now become a 'closed chapter.' Minister Khadka informed that the Prime Minister had told him that the SPP was not in the interests and welfare of our country and thus was not acceptable to Nepal in the changing context. Senior leaders of the ruling alliance, Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal and some senior leaders of the Nepali Congress also declared that the country had rejected the SPP. 

In the meantime, the Chief of Army Staff made it clear that the Nepali Army would not ally with any army of any country. His organisation had told its American counterpart that the Nepali Army could not form its military alliance with US forces. The US, through its embassy in Kathmandu, later suggested to the concerned parties that it was up to Nepal whether to sign or reject the agreement; the US will not coerce the Nepali side to ink the pact. The US statement has helped the Nepali side to take a firm call on SPP. 

It is worth noting that Nepal's geopolitical situation calls for it to refrain from making military alliances with any nation. Given the high degree of security sensitivity of her two closest neighbours, Nepal must remain aloof from SPP or any other such alliance. Our leaders and governments will do well to serve the interests of the nation if they accord high priority to the region's geopolitical sensitivities. They must not involve the country in any controversial agreements, pacts or understandings that would undermine such sensitivities. The timely decision to reject SPP has indeed helped our nation avoid troubles in which it might have found itself owing to the ensuing geopolitical mess. Though the sagacious decision came after much brouhaha, it will prove to be a saving grace for our foreign policy of which the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, Panchasheel and peaceful co-existence are the backbone.