'Our land has been captured': Villagers attest to Chinese annexation of Nepalese territory
China's annexation of 150 hectares of Nepal - dismissed by the Foreign Ministry in Beijing as "rumours" - has been corroborated by fresh testimony from Nepalese villagers.
On Monday, The Daily Telegraph revealed that members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had seized land in five districts of the tiny Himalayan country by sending troops across the undefended border.
The soldiers then moved stone pillars which had previously demarcated the boundary further into Nepalese territory, before constructing buildings which included military bases, according to Nepalese politicians.
Beijing employed similar tactics when it annexed at least 60 square kilometres of Indian territory in Ladakh in June, where clashes saw 20 Indian troops die of reported clubbing and rock-throwing.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that allegations of the PLA annexing Nepalese territory were a “completely unfounded rumour.”
A spokesperson told The Telegraph: “[I have] an accurate and clear answer for you… that report is not based on facts, that is based on pure rumour.”
But on Tuesday, villagers from the Humla district in the north-west of Nepal were steadfast in claiming Chinese troops had seized Nepalese land.
Paljor Lama, 46, from the Limi Valley, said since the time of his grandparents several stone boundary pillars separated Nepal from China in an area of lowland called Yaktuk Dosha.
Overnight in June, Chinese troops moved these pillars inland and annexed around 30 hectares of Nepalese territory.
“The land which has been used by local people for a long time is now under the control of China. It is clear that our land has been captured,” said Mr Lama.
Karmatandup Lama, 65, from Hilsa, where China occupied 70 hectares of Nepalese land in June, said the PLA had annexed territory near the rocky outcrop of Lamjhyang Hill.
Mr Lama described how PLA troops moved boundary pillar 12 at least 1.5 kilometres further inland. When he tried to confront the soldiers, they were told to leave.
“This is our land and all, maybe the [Nepalese] government will look into it,” said Mr Lama.
China’s interest in Nepalese territory is unsurprising as Beijing has long harboured expansionist aims in South Asia, according to Dr Monika Chansoria, Senior Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs.
“Recall that Mao Zedong had professed the 'Five Fingers' strategy for China following Tibet’s annexation in 1950, stating, 'Tibet is the palm, which we must occupy, then we will go after the five fingers',” said Dr Chansoria. “The first among these fingers is Ladakh, followed by Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Perhaps the time for Mao’s words to come to fruition have arrived.”
The Nepalese Government is yet to comment on the claims, and is accused of staying silent as China is Nepal’s most important trading partner and regional ally.
