Nepal has thwarted India's strategy to form a regional alliance excluding China and Pakistan by holding a joint exercise with China snubbing the BIMSTEC joint military drill. It is considered a major diplomatic setback for India.
Sputnik talked to Geeta Kochhar, professor of Chinese Studies in JNU and visiting scholar at Fudan University, China, on India-Nepal ties.
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Sputnik: How do you view China's latest overtures in Nepal?
China has its own imperative to protect its investments and citizens in Nepal, while Nepal wants to take advantage of China to increase its capabilities.
Sputnik: How will Nepal-China military ties impact India?
In fact, we should follow China's model of making stringent checkpoints on the India-Nepal border.
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Sputnik: What should be India's strategy to counter China's increasing influence in Nepal?
Geeta Kochhar: India cannot stop Nepal's deeper engagement with China, but can limit its influence on India-Nepal relations.
As a sovereign nation, Nepal may want to engage with China, but India needs to build its own capabilities and think what it wants from Nepal and what can be offered to Nepal in a more holistic manner. A piece-meal strategy is no future of India-Nepal relations.
The views and opinion expressed by Professor Geeta Kochhar in this article are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.
