Nepal's Conundrum in the Indo-Pacific amidst the Emergence of the Great Power Rivalry

• Autorzy: Rupak Sapkota
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Since the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) was announced, the United States has upscaled closer cooperation with the countries in the region. Small states in the Indo-Pacific region are facing a growing dilemma, balancing their ties with the US and inevitable economic engagement with China. Since Nepal's Foreign Affairs Minister's US visit in 2018, the US has consistently been urging Nepal to play a central role in the free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. However, the role that Nepal grants itself in this region is very small. The US has offered Nepal the status of a potential partner in the IPS, which brings a distinctly new and complex diplomatic conundrum for Nepal. In this context, the paper assesses whether the US has been genuinely willing to encompass Nepal's role in the Indo-Pacific region, or whether it is looking for an opportunity to contain China via Nepal, elucidating Nepal's strategic importance in the American initiative. The question that arises here is how Nepal is to deal with, survive, and maintain its strategic autonomy in the face of the growing great-power rivalry, even if it enhances both the mode and the momentum of its interaction. The study concludes that Nepal's national interests are best served by remaining vigilant. The author considers alternative smart strategies of alignment and also identifies a number of areas where additional research could prove crucial.(original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Local autonomy; Geopolitics; International politics; Foreign policy; Superpower; National interest; Economic development of regions

PL

Autonomia lokalna; Geopolityka; Polityka międzynarodowa; Polityka zagraniczna; Wielkie mocarstwa; Interes narodowy; Rozwój gospodarczy regionów

• Czasopismo: Stosunki Międzynarodowe
• Rocznik: 2020
• Tom: 56
• Numer: nr 2
• Strony: 111--124

Twórcy

autor

Rupak Sapkota

• Tribhuvan University of Nepal

Bibliografia

• Gurpreet S. Khurana, "Security of Sea Lines: Prospects for India-Japan Cooperation," Strategic Analysis 31, no. 1 (2007): 139-153.
• Jeanne A. K. Hey, "Introducing Small State Foreign Policy," in: Small States in World Politics: Explaining Foreign Policy Behavior, ed. Jeanne A. K. Hey (London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003), 6.
• Paul Luif, "Austria: The burdens of history," in: Small States in World Politics: Explaining Foreign Policy Behavior, ed. Jeanne A. K. Hey (London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003), 95-113.
• M. Nedelea, "Economics' diplomacy and Romania's foreign interests promotion," The USV (University Suceava) Annals of Economics and Public Administration 9, no. 1 (2009): 335-340.
• Robert S. Ross, "International Bargaining and Domestic Politics: U.S.-China Relations Since 1972,"World Politics 38, no. 2 (1986): 255-287.
• Bo Ma, "China's Fragmented Approach toward the Indo-Pacific Strategy: One Concept, Many Lenses,"The China Review 20, no. 3 (2020): 177-203.
• Shicun Wu and Jayanath Colombage, "Zhongguo ruhe pojie meiguo de yintai zhanlue?" ["Indo-Pacific Strategy and China's Response"], The China Review, 12 (2019).
• Hsien Loong Lee, "Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong delivered keynote speech at Shangri-La Dialogue," International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), May 31, 2019.
• Ishaan Tharoor, "The U.S. Can't treat China the 'same way' it treated the Soviet Union, warns Asian leader," The Washington Post, 27 September, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/09/27/us-cant-treat-china-same-way-it-treated-soviet-union-warns-asian-leader/.
• Department of Defense, Report on 'Indo-Pacific Strategy: Preparedness, Partnership, and Promoting A Networked Region,' United State of America, 2019, 21.
• Takenori Horimoto, "Explaining India's Foreign Policy: From Dream to Realization of Major Power,"International Relations of the Asia-Pacific 17, no. 3 (2017): 463-496.https://doi.org/10.1093/irap/lcx011.
• Robert D. Kaplan, "How we fought China," Atlantic Monthly, 2005.
• Department of Defense, "Framework for the U.S.-India Defense Relationship," 2015, http://archive.defense.gov/pubs/2015-Defense-Framework.pdf.
• Constantino Xavier, "Converting Convergence into Cooperation: The United States and India in South Asia," Asia Policy 14, no. 1 (2019): 19-50. doi:10.1353/asp.2019.0016.
• R. Mukherjee, "Looking West, Acting East: India's Indo-Pacific Strategy," in: Southeast Asian Affairs, ed. D. Singh and M. Cook (ISEAS, 2019), 44-51.
• D. Jaishankar, "Four Hurdles to Brighter India-US Relations," East Asia Forum, 2019.
• S. Jaishankar, "A Disruptive World: Solutions for Tomorrow," Raisina Dialogue, 18 January 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-MXiCK5Agk.
• Narayan Khadka, "U.S. Aid to Nepal in the Cold War Period: Lessons for the Future," Pacific Affairs 73, no.1 (2000): 77-95. doi:10.2307/2672285.
• Lal Shankar Ghimire, Inside Out: A Reflection on Development Practies (Kathmandu: We Read, Kathalaya, 2019).
• L.F. Stiller and R.P. Yadhav, Planning for People: A study of Nepal's Planning Experience (Kathmandu: Tribhuvan University, 1979).
• Narayan Khadka, Foreign Aid and Foreign Policy: Major Powers and Nepal (New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House, 1997), 110.
• Wang Yanfen and Wang Shiming, "Lengzhan yilai meiguo yu niboer de guanxi" ["US-Nepal Relations since the Cold War"], South Asia Studies, 1 (2009): 29-37. Doi: 10.16608/j.cnki.nyyj.2009.01.005.
• Manish Dabhade and Harsh V. Pant, "Coping with challenges to sovereignty: Sino-Indian rivalry and Nepal's foreign policy," Contemporary South Asia 13, no. 2 (2004): 157-169.
• https://www.state.gov/u-s-delivered-skytruck-aircrafthelp-nepals-humanitarian-and-disaster-response-capabilities-soar/.
• Roshan S. Nepal, "MCC important initiative under Indo-Pacific Strategy," The Himalayan Times, 15 May 2019, https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/millennium-challenge-corporation-compactprogramme-important-initiative-under-indo-pacific-strategy.
• https://np.usembassy.gov/mcc-in-nepal-top-ten-facts/.
• Kamal Dev Bhattarai, "The Indo-Pacific Vs. the Belt and Road: Nepal's Great MCC Debate,"The Diplomat, 30 January 2020, https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/the-indo-pacific-vs-the-belt-and-roadnepals-great-mcc-debate/.
• Hari Bansh Jha, "Rivalry between US and China in Nepal delays MCC," Observer Research Foundation, 14 January 2020, https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/rivalry-between-us-and-china-innepal-delays-mcc-60298/.
• Binod Ghimire, "China says it welcomes any foreign economic support - even the MCC - to Nepal," The Kathmandu Post, 3 January 2020, https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/01/03/chinasays-it-welcomes-any-foreign-economic-support-even-the-mcc-to-nepal.
• Aaron Bekemeyer, "The Nuances of the US-Tibet Relationship," Michigan Journal History, 2009, https://michiganjournalhistory.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/bekemeyer2.pdf.
• Melvyn C. Goldstein, "The United States, Tibet, and the Cold War," Journal of Cold War Studies 8, no. 3 (2016): 145-164.
• Paul Salopek, "The CIA's Secret War on Tibet," The Chicago Tribune, 26 January 1997, https://www. chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-01-26-9701270002-story.html.
• Peter Lee, "China tests Nepal's loyalty over Tibet," Asia Times Online 4, no. 2 (2011).
• Utpal Parashar, "India Losing Little Gate Game," Hindustan Times, 5 September 2010.
• B.N. Baral, "Changing Dynamics of Nepalese Foreign Policy: Patterns and Trends," Journal of Political Science 18 (2018): 25-46.
• John W. Garver, Protracted Contest: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Twentieth Century (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001), 5.
• Rupak Sapkota, "China-India-Nepal Trilateralism: An Initiative Beyond Geopolitics," Journal of International Security Studies 34, no. 4 (2016): 68-92.
• Leo E. Rose, Nepal Strategy for Survival (Berkley: University of California Press, 1971), 291.
• Rupak Sapkota, "Nepal in the Belt and Road: New Vista on Building a China-India-Nepal Economic Corridor," China International Studies 67 (Nov/Dec 2017): 105-121.

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.7366/020909612202006