China Encroaching Into Nepal's Territory: Report

A Nepalese government report, dated September 2021, has accused China of encroaching into Nepal's territory along their shared border.

The report, commissioned after it was reported that China was trespassing in the Humla district in the far west of Nepal, claims that Chinese forces threatened Nepal's border police.

According to the report, surveillance activities by Chinese security forces had restricted religious activities on the Nepalese side of the border at a place called Lalungjong. It further said that China had been limiting grazing by the cattle stock of the Nepalese farmers.

It further found that China was building a fence around a border pillar and attempting to construct a canal and a road on the Nepalese side of the border. The report also suggested the deployment of Nepalese security forces in the area to step up security.

Surprisingly, Nepal also remains silent on the issue as the report was not published by the government but was leaked. Despite all evidence on the ground, the report is now pending with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Further, after the report was leaked, Nepalese Communications Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said, "Any border issues with its neighbours would be dealt with diplomatically. Either with India or with China, if there are any issues at our border, we will resolve them through diplomatic means. Such problems should not arise, and the Nepal government will always make efforts to prevent such situations."

As per a media report, with the Nepalese government downplaying the issue, Binay Yadav, Chairperson of Rashtriya Ekta Abhiyan, had submitted a memorandum to the United Nations office in Kathmandu, urging the international community to take note of Chinese land grabbing tactics.

The memorandum says, "According to the study, the area between pillar number 5 (2) and the middle of the Kit Khola has been marked as the border between the two countries since the 1963 Boundary Protocol," adding that it has been discovered that the Chinese side has erected fences and wires in Nepali land.

Meanwhile, amid reports of Chinese encroachment into Nepal in the last two years, there have been protests in Kathmandu against China's expansionist ambitions. However, China has denied such reports as the Chinese Embassy in Nepal issued a statement in January, saying "there is no dispute at all. It is hoped that the Nepali people (will) not be misled with false individual reports."