By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : After Nepal’s new Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda chose to break with tradition and made China his first destination abroad instead of India, now Nepal’s new Defence Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’ could be heading for Beijing once again.
Badal, the Russia-educated military strategist of the Maoists’ guerrilla army during the decade-old armed insurgency, has been invited to visit China from Sep 22. Besides meeting officials, he has also been invited to inspect the Chinese army.
The defence minister’s office Friday confirmed the invitation to IANS but said no immediate decision has been taken on whether the minister would accept or not.
For a long time, Nepal did not have a defence minister as the prime minister himself held the crucial ministry.
Beijing would be eager to cultivate close relations with the defence minister since it is trying to sell indigenously manufactured arms and aircraft to the Nepal Army.
China had supported King Gyanendra’s army-backed coup in 2005 and in exchange, had been able to sell its aircraft to the army at marked up prices.
After the fall of the royal regime, the cash-strapped Nepal government asked Beijing to scrap the deal, but the Chinese authorities refused to oblige.
If Badal decides to accept the invitation, it is bound to stoke the India-China controversy here afresh.
When Prachanda chose to visit China within the first week of assuming office, it triggered speculation that Nepal was trying to cosy up to China and snub its biggest trade partner India.
To scuttle the rumours, Prachanda said the Beijing trip was intended only to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games and that his “political” visits would start with India.
The prime minister is embarking on a five-day India trip Sunday.