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The upcoming visit of Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to India is going to be “litmus test” of the bilateral ties even as the government is assessing its allies amidst the ongoing Doklam stand-off with China over the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction area.
The visit comes at a time when tensions between India and China have reached its peak with threats of a conflagration between the two has become louder from Beijing. A buffer state between two Asian giants, Nepal so far has chosen to remain silent.
Deuba, who became Prime Minister after Maoist leader ‘Prachanda’ Pushpa Kumar Dahal, stepped down, is embarking on a five-day visit starting from August 23. This will be his first visit abroad since taking over.
According to diplomatic sources, Nepal was also contemplating to defer the visit until India and China resolve the issue. India had expressed serious concerns over the growing ties between Nepal and China earlier also.
“The visit will be a litmus test for India-Nepal ties. The issue is going to be raised at the highest level and it remains to be seen what the outcome will be,” an official told BusinessLine requesting anonymity.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is expected to discuss the issue as well as explain India’s stand during her bilateral meeting with Dueba on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Foreign Ministers’ meet taking place on August 10-11 in Nepal.
India is also concerned over China’s Vice-Premier Wang Yang’s visit to Nepal on August 14. China has been pushing Nepal to take a stand on the matter. Although Nepal said that the Doklam issue has no relevance to it, the Indian government is not taking any chances.
Ever since the stand-off began on June 18, India has maintained that the matter can be solved through diplomatic talks. However, China has said it will come to the discussion table only when India withdraws its troops from the tri-junction area.
Currently, both sides have nearly 300-400 soldiers standing eyeball to eyeball in the region with tents pitched in, an indication of the face-off continuing, according to sources.
Earlier this week, while addressing the Rajya Sabha, Swaraj had said India will “keep patience to resolve the issue and will be engaging with China to resolve the dispute.”
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