Can Buddhist diplomacy be used to the maximum advantage of the power struggle between Nepal, India and China?
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On May 16, 2022, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi officially visited Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Gautam Buddha, in Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Purnima. All of this has happened at a time when many countries around the world have been torn apart by the Ukraine-Russia war, and questions from many over the role of the United Nations (UN) and NATO have been eroding the confidence of small nations in global and regional powers.
The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has visited Nepal four times in his first five-year tenure as Prime Minister. Three years after taking oath in 2019, he came to Lumbini to commemorate the 2566th birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha. Although the tour was religious, it also had political, economic and international motives. The six important topics discussed at this time were; It is about strengthening ties between India and Nepal in terms of connectivity, energy, education, economic system, socially and culturally.
Modi’s presence in Lumbini is not just a strategic or bilateral influence; The strength of the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) is geographically strategic as it competes with competitors.
Although India and China met recently, Lumbini is important for both India and China. Modi’s presence in Lumbini is not just a strategic or bilateral influence; The strength of the Indo-Pacific Region (IPR) is geographically strategic as it competes with competitors. Lumbini, the 'abode of peace', is becoming a symbolic place, and 'Buddhism' is becoming a point of contention between India and China. China is trying to create a strategic influence by using Buddhism to expand its footprint in India's sphere of influence - the Himalayas, South Asia and the greater Southeast Asian region. Lumbini seems to have grown in popularity as a center of Buddhist diplomacy in the region. This has been further boosted by the laying of foundations by both Prime Minister Modi and PM Deuba for the India International Center for Buddhist Cultural and Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone. PM Deuba inaugurated the US $ 76.1-million Gautam Buddha International Airport, which was built by a Chinese company and funded by the Asian Development Bank through the South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project (US $ 37 million), OPEC Fund for International Development (US $ 11). Million), and the rest is being funded by the Government of Nepal.
In July 2011, Xiao Wunan, vice president of the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation Foundation (APECF), held a सोबत 3 billion signing ceremony with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), hoping to bring together all practices of Buddhism. This investment is less than 10 percent of Nepal's GDP; It will come not only from the Chinese government but also from various other funds around the world. Complementing the Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, the multi-dollar railway connecting Lhasa-Shigatse to Kerung to Kathmandu in Tibet and finally Lumbini, was introduced as part of the joint conference's Belt and Road Initiative. BRI) in April 2019.
This investment is less than 10 percent of Nepal's GDP; It will come not only from the Chinese government but also from various other funds around the world.
There are three aspects to this initiative: first, it extends President Hu Jintao's ideology to the international arena, focusing on international peace and cooperation by promoting a "harmonious society"; Second, the US $ 2.25 billion 72.25 km cross-border railway line from the Himalayas connecting the Tibetan border town of Kathmandu and the tourist cities of Pokhara and Lumbini is a remarkable development, but questions arise on the basis of feasibility, cost overruns, debt. Traps, and geopolitical concerns. Finally, cognitive dissatisfaction is such that it may also be an extension of its soft power as part of communist ideology. This raises the question of whether Nepal will continue to buffer Buddhism as a soft power tool and revive Lumbini as a center and connector of Buddhist diplomacy between New Delhi and Beijing.
China's internal coherence and regional diplomacy
While China's political investment in Nepal and South Asia is expanding, China and India are militarizing the Himalayas, on which there is no sign of a settlement. As part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), six of the eight countries in the region have signed a memorandum of understanding with China, which can be witnessed by anyone in the region's interaction with China. China held three virtual meetings in July 2020, October 2020 and April 27, 2021 with Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan as part of its accompanying diplomacy. Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visited the Maldives and Sri Lanka in early January 2022, and a month later visited Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan.
Three long-term strategies can be seen here: first to safeguard our interests in the context of India, which seeks to develop closer ties with the United States and other Western democracies. Second, China's involvement with smaller nations is to limit India's influence in the region. Finally, to create internal unity through Buddhist correlation.
China held three virtual meetings in July 2020, October 2020 and April 27, 2021 with Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan as part of its accompanying diplomacy.
Buddhist diplomacy between Nepal and China has been noticeable since 2011, with infrastructure projects connecting the mainland of China to the birthplace of Buddhism, which was later implemented during President Xi’s October 2019 visit to Nepal. Nepal and China signed 20 agreements to promote connectivity, trade, economic assistance and security, and upgraded their relationship into a strategic partnership, "helping Nepal realize its dream of becoming a landlocked country from a landlocked country."
India's geographical diplomacy is based on the "Neighborhood First" policy and the "Act East" policy. New Delhi is also keen to take steps to oppose Beijing's political, economic and military efforts to justify Buddhism and use it as a soft power to reach the Indo-Pacific region.
Stating that relations between Nepal and India are as inseparable as the Himalayas, Prime Minister Modi said that India would use the strong cultural and bilateral ties to meet the challenges posed by China's political influence. In his address, PM Modi said, “In the kind of global situation that is emerging today, the growing and strengthening friendship between India and Nepal will work for the benefit of all humanity. Devotion to Lord Buddha binds us together and makes us members of one family. ” Nepal-India relations are aiming to reach new heights by promoting Buddhist diplomacy as a tool of geo-strategy and other bilateral initiatives. Steps are being taken to strengthen party-party and government-government relations.
Stating that relations between Nepal and India are as inseparable as the Himalayas, Prime Minister Modi said that India would use the strong cultural and bilateral ties to meet the challenges posed by China's political influence.
Conclusion
Although China is no longer a Buddhist-majority country, China's economic benefits, spiritual aspirations, and Asian characteristics will enable Buddhism to return to the region as a major practice. However, the possibility of India leading the way in soft power diplomacy cannot be ruled out. It is a revival of religious diplomacy where religion plays an important role in international diplomacy. It is a promising political strategy towards the peaceful integration of regional powers with the culture at the center. In the future, the Indo-Pacific region will see the influence of religion in international politics. The question that remains is: can Nepal take advantage of this for its own good?
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