N. P. UpadhyayaIt is getting too late to tighten the belts if Nepal is to be saved. Analysts mean it.
What has become pretty clear by now is that the present day dust-bin Nepali politicos neither possess the vision nor have the needed capabilities to get the country out from the current maneuvering visibly being played by both domestic and international forces ( hostile indeed) to wreak havoc on this country under this or that political pretexts. Weaker nations easily become the prey, opines Mohan Mainali, a senior Nepal Journalist.
At best, if the nation-state survives the ongoing global onslaught that Nepal has been experiencing of late per chance then for sure Nepal will turn out to be a permanent battle ground for those forces who or which wish to dominate the entire South Asian region by making Kathmandu as their seat of maneuvering platform. Yet the center of gravity now is located in Kathmandu. Take it for granted.
The idea is to, frankly speaking, bring ultimately India and China face to face and weaken both so that India ever remains dependent on the lone Super Power. The US is playing this game. India is just the tail of the US, by default.
The same game is being played by the US by creating unnecessary rift in between China and Japan over some island issue. Here again the idea is to keep these two economic giants engaged in a non-ending fight and ultimately benefit from such a neighborly brawl.
Wisdom would demand that both China and Japan understand the US trick and sort out their internal disputes in an amicable manner.
Neighbors can’t be changed as is Nepali sad experience.
The hidden agenda of the US is to create serious political and territorial disputes for China with its immediate neighbors. The exercise is in full progress.
Writes the Beijing Review, September 27 issue that “a growing number of Chinese citizens believe that the US has sowed the seeds of the feud between China and Japan and that the US-Japan strategic Military Alliance has emboldened the latter to lay claims on a territory upon which it holds no sovereignty at all”.
The Beijing Review editorial further writes, “China and Japan are major players in many global and regional economic and political issues, so peace and cooperation between the two countries will only help the Asia-Pacific region and the world at large and that it would be in the best interest for the two nations, as well as the United States to work toward preventing the crisis from escalating”.
A close analysis at what has been said by this paper does hint that China would prefer to settle the dispute(s) with Japan in the larger interest of the entire region and also hopes that the US would do well if she too comes to the scene not as a villain but as a benevolent friend.
The US point man Leon Panetta in the mean time has talked different while being in Japan and Beijing. He talked different to Chinese defense minister Liang Guanglie and talked in a different manner while meeting the Japanese counterpart, Satoshi Morimoto.
This perhaps speaks of the inner design of the US in the entire China-Japan dispute. Such US play may hit also Delhi-Beijing relations if the former doesn’t perceive the design in advance.
The Chinese Vice President, Xi Jinping, though has warned Japan while meeting Leon Panetta recently.
Highly informed political analysts in Kathmandu, while talking to this paper, opine that, “due to US East Asia Strategy, Washington actually prefers tension or even a conflict between China and Japan and criticize the biased posture of the US as unhelpful to the regional situation and have also warned that Washington may have been playing a very dangerous game”. The US is yet to clarify its inner design.
Unfortunately, India being a part of the Indo-US Axis though would not prefer to invite the trouble a la 1962 with China, yet the US pressure she can’t withstand. India in an implied manner has sent signals to Beijing through diplomatic channels that she will not be carried away with the US diplomatic seductions or even coercion.
This means that India understands it better that India and China were Asian nations and someone from far flung pole should dictate her terms and conditions and bring them both face to face with an aim to weaken both the neighboring Asian nations.
Back home, the news that a contingent of US soldiers has already entered into Nepali territory and were likely to visit Manang and Mustang ( possibly they have already visited these two sensitive districts) is not only susceptible but reminds us all of the Khampa rebellion of the good old days which occurred inside Nepal some four decades back.
Nepal Army perhaps is keeping a close eye on these recent developments, analysts presume.
Interestingly, the visiting US soldiers in civilian dress have been touring the interiors of Nepal under humanitarian pretexts. Writes Arun Srivastava, September 24, 2012, for Vijayavani (the author is anaccredited management consultant and highly experienced researcher and writer. He is also the South Asia correspondent of Salem-News of Oregon, USA and a regular contributor to Global Research), that “Since there is no leader in Nepal either popular or opposed to Western domination or both, that can’t be a reason for the humanitarian mission of US soldiers. On the other hand, the undercurrent of simmering ethnic strife stoked by well funded INGOs and NGOs, USAID, FORD Foundation, Asia Foundation, George Soros’ Human Rights groups and the UN Framework Team could be used as an opportunity to grab strategic territory close to China. The construction of a lily pad in Gorkha district, of no use to the local civilian population, is a strong indication that the US Government is planning an extremely risky surgery in the Himalayan heart”.
This write up is really thrilling one.
Moreover, the area the US soldiers have selected for their so called “humanitarian cause” adjoins China’s Tibet. This must have some intrinsic meaning which perhaps Beijing understands better. Or else humanitarian cause doesn’t demand attention.
Fortunately, the NC leader, Ms. Sujata Koirala just the other day also talked about the uninformed entrance of the US soldiers in Nepali land thus what could be said of it all that Sujata has the knowledge of the mysterious US army’s uninformed presence in Nepal.
She was talking to the Nepali media men at the Reporters Club.
Things become even more politically complicated when one understands that the US soldiers in civilian dress have entered into Nepal close on the heels of the US lifting the terrorist tag from the Maoists party-now ruling the country. This is what has made the matter worse for Nepal because it is loaded with meaning.
US dignitary Robert O Blake meets the Tibetan refugees in Kathmandu, September 11, 2012, without informing the Nepal government and very close to this diplomatic lapse, the US dares to penetrate into Nepali territory by sending its military men who have been allowed to roam in areas which are considered as China’s sensitive quarter .
PM Bhattarai remains silent which is understandable. Paying back the obligation. He should. But why the Nepali academia is tight lipped?
Summing up all these, Nepal is unnecessarily being dragged into this what could be called as the “Great game” which is generally perceived as a ploy to contain or encircle China by the interested global quarters or say newly formed Axis inside our own region. Yet analysts wouldn’t mind if the US men in effect have entered into Nepali landmass as per what has been given to understand.
Can Nepal remain aloof from this impending event? Perhaps very difficult. It would be very close to a whirlpool.
Have mercy on Nepal. Attention Nepal Army!
