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Did Nepal’s attendance at military conference in Australia signal a shift in foreign policy?
General Prabhu Ram Sharma, the chief of the Nepali Army, recently attended the 24th annual Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) conference in Sydney. The army says the visit was about exchanging ideas on the security implications arising from climate change, but not everyone is convinced.
Published 3 August 2022 11:34am
Updated 3 August 2022 3:58pm
By Abhas Parajuli, Sewa Bhattarai
Image: Military leaders at the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense Conference 2022 in Sydney, New South Wales. (Jay Cronan)
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) said it was honoured to co-host the event from 25 to 27 July with the US Indo-Pacific Command (USPASCOM), which brought together senior military leaders from 27 countries in the region.
“Australia is deeply committed to working with our global and regional partners to maintain a secure, resilient and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” an ADF spokesperson said in an email to SBS Nepali.
Forums like the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense Conference are important to foster [an] open dialogue and advance regional cooperation.
The ADF said discussions of the conference centred on the security implications of climate change, advanced technologies, and the conflicts in Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific.
It further said, the chiefs of defence agreed to increase the complexity and frequency of mini-lateral training exercises, improve information sharing, and increase diversity in their ranks.
However, the Nepali Army’s participation in the US-led military conference has been questioned at home, given the country’s strategic location in sharing its northern border with China.
Nepali foreign minister Narayan Khadka (R) and Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two sides in March 2022 for financial and technical assistance, a feasibility study of the transmission line projects, and a team of Chinese health workers providing services in Nepal. Source: SIPA USA / Sipa USA Prabin Ranabhat / SOPA Images/Si
Since the 1950s, the Himalayan state has officially been part of the Non-Aligned Movement, consisting of 120 countries that don’t formally align with or against any significant military power bloc.
But in recent years, political analysts say the Nepali political establishment has been tilting towards the West, falling in line with the Indo-Pacific Strategy under the leadership of the United States, where Australia is a key partner too.
Nepal’s parliament recently ratified a compact with the United States’ Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which many Nepalis take as being part of the
The US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Vice President Fatema Sumar during her visit to Kathmandu, Nepal. Credit: US Embassy, Nepal
Last week, US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia at the State Department Donald Lu met with the Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Lu was in Kathmandu to pressure the Deuba government to participate in the SPP.
It came as Nepal’s Foreign Minister Dr Narayan Khadka, speaking in the lower house of the Nepali parliament on 29 July, said the cabinet had already taken the decision (not to be a part of the SPP) on 21 June.
He told parliament that the Nepal government sent a communique conveying the cabinet’s decision to the US on 25 July.
Nepali Parliament in Kathmandu. Source: EPA / NARENDRA SHRESTHA/EPA
Dr Kirpa Ram Bishwakarma is a lecturer in Political Science at the Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.
He has accused the political establishment in Nepal of embroiling the army in the “SPP farce”.
“The army communicated directly with a foreign country’s army, and not through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as it should have,” he told SBS Nepali.
He said the involvement of the responsible officers of the army in the controversial circumstances raises more questions as “it signals the army is tilting more towards a side.”
Dr Bishwakarma further argues on the backdrop of the SPP debacle back home that attending a program co-hosted by the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command does not sit well with the masses.
It looks like Nepal has failed to implement its non-aligned foreign policy. Failing to stick to that policy, and giving importance to one foreign country over another, could have grave consequences for Nepal, a developing nation still highly dependent on its more powerful friendly states.Dr Kirpa Ram Bishwakarma
The Global Times, a Chinese bilingual newspaper, also published a report on 29 July accusing the US of not giving up on SPP “”
But Brigadier General Narayan Silwal, the spokesperson for the Nepali Army, has downplayed a shift in allegiance.
He said General Sharma’s appearance at the conference was a regular visit that would allow the country to further its military diplomacy.
“The CHOD conference is attended by defence chiefs of many countries in the Indo-Pacific region, and Nepal has been participating in the annual conference since 2000,” he told SBS Nepali.
According to Brigadier General Silwal, as this year’s conference’s theme revolved around the impact of climate-induced natural disasters on regional security and humanitarian assistance, the Nepali Army’s focus was on sharing its experiences regarding contributions to UN peacekeeping efforts.
At the conference, the Japanese General Kōji Yamazaki, proposing the theme, said he recognised the strategic realignment in the Indo-Pacific region.
“The challenges we face are bigger than any one country,” General Yamazaki said.
Only by working together, can we realise our shared vision for a secure, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific of independent, sovereign and resilient states.Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, General Kōji Yamazaki
Another justification for the Nepali presence at the conference was military diplomacy.
“We hope participating in the conference will help to further Nepal’s military diplomacy, aid its foreign policy, and promote its role in UN peacekeeping,” Brigadier General Silwal said.
The spokesperson confirmed Australian Chief of Defence Force General Angus Campbell’s meeting with the Nepali Chief of Army Staff General Sharma, where they discussed matters of “mutual interest”.
The email further stated that Australia’s defence engagement with Nepal includes longstanding cooperation in peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and military education.
Australian Ambassador to Nepal, Felicity Volk and Lieutenant General Prabhu Ram Sharma, Chief of General Staff, stand with guests during Australia's handover of humanitarian aid stores to the Nepali Army at Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal. Credit: CPL Robert Whitmore, The Department of Defence
Defence chiefs from 27 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including India, Japan and New Zealand, attended the conference to discuss mutual security challenges, among other agenda items.
Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell, represented the ADF.
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