KATHMANDU: Despite the attempts to ensure political stability in Nepal, the international community still seems not convinced of it yet. At least the power nations’ — USA, China and India’s — preference to deal with Nepal Army (NA) rather than the nearly two-thirds majority government shows the same.

In addition to the Chinese concern expressed in the Tibet issue overtly and other issues covertly, the Chinese Supremo Xi Jinping, in his November visit to Nepal, deciphered that the US and Western nations had been hatching a conspiracy against China in Nepal and warned to crush them to pieces.

In the meantime, during his visit to China, Ishwor Pokharel, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense, signed an agreement in which Beijing had promised to provide military logistics to the NA worth Rs 2 billion.

Humanitarian aid and disaster management, the defense university the Army is mulling on lately were also the subject of discussion. The preparation set for the agreement on support for the infrastructure of the defense university was removed from the agenda at the eleventh hour of the President’s visit.

Similarly, Randal G. Schriver, the Assistant Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs had talked to Minster for Defense Pokharel and Chief of Army Purna Chandra Thapa on the issues related to humanitarian and disaster management and the bilateral military exercise and training.

According to the sources, Schriver expressed the US government’s willingness to nurture the defense partnership and help in the modernization of the Nepal Army. He is said to have offered the desired help in the physical infrastructure and course selection along with designing the curriculum.

As a ‘gesture’ parcel of such a tie, Nepal Army gets two sky trucks from the US government on December 15. The cargo planes have already arrived in Nepal on December 8.

Nepal Army is said to have set for the letter of credit (LC) to buy 10 thousand M16 weapons from the US.

In the Indo Pacific strategy, the Ministry for Defense, USA published on June 1, it had included Nepal as a new partner and expressed its readiness to collaborate in peacekeeping operations, defense professionalization, capacity enhancement of the land force, disaster management and counter-terrorism sector.

The USA has decided to enhance military partnerships with the 12 Indo-pacific nations under the Global Peace Operation Initiative.

It is said that both the USA and China have shown interest in helping the defense university.

Though less aggressively than before, India also has been expressing its concern about military drills and other activities in Nepal.

Owing to the practice of regarding the CoA’s of each other as their honorary military chief, India seems to regard the issues in Nepal as the one under its duty.

Lately, India has been taking Nepal as an important ally that can be used to deal against China’s influence in the region. India regards Nepal as part of the defense strategy and diplomatic structure to tackle Chinese influence in the region.

Despite the humble relationship at people’s level, owing to some sort of uncomfortable relations at the political level, India also seems to use military relations between the nations as a key factory to address its security concern.

According to the political analysts, when USA and China have conflicting interest in Nepal, India and China have the competing interest here.

Yet, owing to the inefficient diplomatic practices and conflicting opinions the political parties hold on foreign policy esp. while in power and out of power, the power nations have regarded the Nepal Army as a permanent institution to deal with.