American interest and interference in Nepal
#Lucky Chand
Nepal’s geopolitical location is not a common subject for any superpower. Nepal, located in a sensitive region between India and China, has always been at the center of high diplomatic concern. Over the past decade, American activity in Nepal has been undeclaredly increasing, and the facts, documents, and meticulous analyses that have emerged to date clearly show that Nepal has been transformed into a laboratory for American strategic purposes. In particular, the main strategic objectives of this strategy are to stop China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), encourage independent Tibetan activities, and increase American dependence within Nepal.
The US Embassy’s primary strategy in Nepal appears to be based on “soft infiltration” and an “NGO-based operational intelligence network.” Dozens of organizations, some of which are openly working in the name of human rights, while others are entirely involved in obscure purposes such as cultural exchange or educational cooperation. They are deeply related to the US’s Tibet policy and the anti-China information war. For example, Tibetan refugees in Nepal are being organized in the name of human rights, religious freedom, and ethnic identity. There seems regular presence of representatives from the CTA (Central Tibetan Administration) and the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.
According to confidential information, the US has been pressuring Nepal’s security agencies and in the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure access for pro-CTA officials. In the past, meetings between US officials and Tibetan leaders in the Buddhist area of Kathmandu, training programs for Tibetan youth around Bhotahiti-Swoyambhu, and grants through the UN refugee agency have all been part of a pro-Tibetan plan. The Tibetan issue has become the focus of psychological and information warfare aimed at causing unrest in China, and efforts are ongoing to make Nepal a staging ground for it.
The US strategy against the BRI is even more serious. There is a well-planned effort to spread the message of “Debt Trap Diplomacy” on Chinese infrastructure investment, and to spread disinformation against BRI projects through local intellectuals, journalists, and social activists. The talk of the MCC Compact, the labeling of voices against it as ‘pro-China nationalist extremists’, and the simultaneous creation of fear and confusion about the BRI are all a combination of propaganda. The US appears to be legitimizing its strategic presence in the name of economic projects.
On the other hand, a strategy has been adopted to create pressure on Nepal’s policymakers and build a “compliance structure” through foreign aid. In the past, USAID and currently, organizations like NED, Asia Foundation, and Democracy International have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars on policymaking, justice systems, administrative capacity building, and civic re-engineering in the name of “democratic reform.” The ultimate goal of most projects is to create an American tended in Nepal’s policymaking and institutionalize anti-China pre-assumptions.
The future strategy looks even more dangerous. According to information received, the US is working on a plan to cause internal conflict within the various political forces in Nepal, isolate nationalist forces, and conflict the constitutional structure. The main priorities now are restructuring federalism through constitutional amendments, rewriting security policy, and expanding foreign influence within intellectual institutions in the name of religious freedom. The dependence seen on American projects in Nepal’s higher education sector and the political attitude against the Chinese language are a result of this.
Factually speaking, Work is underway to implement the agreements between the US and CTA in Nepal through the US Embassy. Diplomatic documents from the US State Department state that Tibetan activities can be conducted in all three countries – Nepal, India, and Bhutan. In 2022, at the UN Human Rights Council, the US representative openly conveyed the message of “responsibility to protect” to the Nepalese government regarding Tibetan refugees, which was a kind of indirect warning. Apart from this, details of promotional materials, trainers, and grant support sent to Nepal through CTA from Dharamsala in India are still being analyzed.
Such actions are not just covert activities, these strategies are part of the “hybrid warfare.” Where an attempt is being made to transform Nepal into a buffer zone using all kinds of means, legal-illegal, transparent-invisible, supportive-deceptive.
The silence of the Nepali government and political parties, the weakness towards diplomatic intervention in national security, and the promotion of foreign agendas in civil society—all of these are making Nepal an arena for international power struggles. Preparing for a third-party war on the territory of any country is the most serious violation of sovereignty. Nepal is standing at a sensitive juncture where any decision made without a realistic assessment of its geopolitical location will cause long-term damage.
Today, it is imperative for Nepal to formulate an independent foreign policy, adopt a clear policy towards the CTA-US partnership, and make a policy commitment to not allow any kind of anti-China activity to take place from within Nepal. Surrender in the name of diplomatic balance is never acceptable. A vigilant approach, meticulous information analysis, and a security strategy focused on national interest are the vital work of today.
Nepal is now at a decision’s crossroads: Should we forge an identity as an independent nation or continue to be a dependent laboratory? This question is before our leadership, civil society, and the intelligentsia. And this answer cannot be delayed any longer.
