Implications on Nepal’s Foreign Affairs of the Sino-Indian Rapprochement over Lipulekh

Abstract

When China and India get closer, will Nepal be uncomfortable with losing its strategicspace? The available literature on Sino-Indian conflict and competition in the Himalayanregion do not divulge the impacts of Sino-Indian cooperation on Nepal. By examining theSino-Indian rapprochement over Nepal’s Lipulekh, this study elaborates the implications ofIndia’s and China’s neighborhood policies on Nepal’s foreign policy. In 2015, while Nepalwas concentrating on post-earthquake relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, China andIndia—the two Asian geopolitical rivals, decided to use Nepal’s Lipulekh as a trading corridor,without Nepal’s consent. The Sino-Indian agreement over Nepal’s Lipulekh not only stirredcontroversy in Nepal but also raised questions over the intention of Nepal’s two immediateneighbors. Although 2015 was not the first time that Nepal’s neighbors agreed upon the Lipulekhroute, the case of the Sino-Indian rapprochement in Lipulekh is studied and methodologicallyanalyzed under the framework of exploratory research design. By situating Nepal’s case in theconceptual framework of small states, first, this study surveys Nepal’s foreign policy behaviorin the context of Nepal’s Gulliverian neighborhood through deductive reasoning. Second, theimpacts of the multi-faceted Sino-Indian interactions on Nepal’s foreign policy are identifiedthrough inductive reasoning. Finally, the implications of the neighborhood policies of Chinaand India toward Nepal are discussed against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian rapprochementover Nepal’s Lipulekh.