Parties’ Foreign Policy Under Scrutiny

Nepal’s strategic location has made it a hot geopolitical spot for regional and global powers. The geopolitics has been a dominant subject that often divides the domestic players mostly on the ideological lines. It complicates the internal politics to an extent that the major political forces stumble to navigate it and form uniform position for the broader national interest. With the federal and provincial elections being held next week, the parties’ foreign policy, explained in their respective poll manifestoes, has come under public scrutiny. Unlike burning national and local issues, the foreign policy may not be a glamorous poll agenda but it is significant for the would-be ruling parties to deal with the neighbours and friendly nations. At that time, election manifestoes should be the reference point for the execution of foreign policy.

In 2017 election, the then alliance of CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre had fought on the plank of nationalism – the five-month-long Indian blockade and landmark Transit and Transportation Agreement (TTA) signed between Nepal and China. India had slapped an unofficial economic embargo on its small northern neighbour over the promulgation of new constitution in 2015. The TTA accord has in principle ended Nepal’s dependence on India for the third country trade. The Left Alliance cashed in on the widespread anti-Indian sentiments and historic agreement with China to rack up near two-thirds seats in the parliament. But today the rage against the blockade has died down while the TTA failed to gain momentum during the then CPN-led government under KP Sharma Oli.

Revised map

However, the parties have not abandoned their strategy to sell the nationalistic agenda to the voters. The major parties are now scrambling to take credit for publication of political and administrative map that includes Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulek located in Darchula district in far west of Nepal. In May 2020, the then CPN government unveiled the revised map responding to the Indian government’s move to publish a similar map placing the Nepali territories within its borders. In a clear bid to capitalise on the issuance of the new map, Oli kicked off his party’s election campaign from Darchula, claiming to return those territories and not to let even a single inch of the Nepali land be encroached upon. 

However, Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda have slammed Oli for his claim over the ownership of the new map. Speaking from Darchula, PM Deuba said that the federal parliament passed the map with the collective voice of all parties but Oli had spread a propaganda that it was endorsed with his sole effort. Prachanda has said that the map was revised because of his initiative and Oli is making a false claim that he brought out the new map. Whatever the arguments the top leaders made on the issuance of the revised map, it has become a stale agenda now and the voters are unlikely to be swayed by this issue during the polls for there were no effective and sustained diplomatic moves to bring back the lost territories. 

Former PM Oli stayed one year in office since the adoption of new map but he failed to take any important decision to claim the territories. Instead, he issued orders to stop the distribution of textbooks bearing the revised map. In order to mend ties with India, which had gone sour after the release of the map, Oli invited Indian intelligence chief for a clandestine midnight meeting at his official residence in Baluwatar. Following his visit, the country’s politics began to take a nasty turn, with Oli himself dissolving the House of Representatives twice, resulting in the collapse of his government and split of the CPN into three groups. 

In their manifestoes, major parties state that their foreign policies are guided by the constitution that stresses balanced and independent policy, and treaties and agreements with other nations are based on equality and mutual interest while reviewing the past treaties. They have stood against joining any military alliance and abusing the Nepali soil against any neighbouring nations. Unlike the UML, the NC has not mentioned the political map in its manifesto but it states that it will take a decisive step to sort out the existing border disputes with both India and China. 

National priority

In September 2021, the current coalition government formed a committee to study border issues with China but it has not made public the report yet. According to border expert Buddhi Narayan Shrestha, the committee report concluded that China has not encroached upon Nepali territory at Limi Lapcha and Hilsa in Namkha villages of Humla but the problem arose when the Chinese side restricted Nepalis from going to the other side of the border. Shrestha said this requires proper border management by taking the locals into confidence and developing understanding between the two peoples. The NC manifesto states that it is committed to implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as per the national necessity and priority but its preference for grants over commercial loans has put potential BRI projects in limbo. 

It does not sound rational that the country will receive only grants, not loans. Nepal should negotiate with China for soft or concessional loans to build critical infrastructure as it does with multilateral lending agencies like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. In its commitment paper, the UML pledges to build Birgunj-Kathmandu and Rasuwagadi-Kathmandu railways but the Oli government showed no interest in seriously holding talks with the northern neighbour to bring in the Chinese rail considered a game changer in the region. Meanwhile, the Maoist Centre’s manifesto states that a new cold war is being felt, posing a challenge to Nepal. It vows to free the country from all types of foreign military activities and declare Nepal a zone of peace. It is an irony that the former rebels’ party that raised arms to eradicate kingship is now borrowing the concept of late king Birendra to shape its foreign policy at a time the country has found it difficult to escape geopolitical pitfalls.

(The author is Deputy Executive Editor of this daily.)