Guarded by two soldiers, the entrance is decorated with Buddhist prayer flags. The narrow and oppressive tunnel then sinks 900 meters into the heart of the mountain. Suddenly, it opens into a huge room where sit six turbines that power Nepal’s largest hydroelectric power station. In this cold underground setting, the gaze falls on unusual flashing garlands, installed for the inauguration of the place in September, and on a small altar dedicated to the Hindu gods.
Electricity to spare
Developed under the aegis of the Nepal Electricity Authority, and in particular with the help of Chinese and Indian providers, the power station with a power of 456 megawatts embodies Nepal’s ambition. Enclosed in the Himalayas, the poor country with 6,000 rivers relies on hydropower for its future. While its villages are not all electrified, Nepal produces a surplus of this energy that it wants to export to India and Bangladesh. Here, on the heights of the Tamakoshi River, the power station should generate the equivalent of national consumption. Higher up, at the end of a vertiginous road, nestle the last village of Lambagar, its yaks, its goats and the gigantic dam, under the peaks of Tibet where the river takes its source.
“China is punishing us! “
From Tamakoshi to Rasuwa via Bhotekhoshi, the lost valleys on the edge of China have become spectacular high-altitude construction sites that massacre rivers, but in return provide jobs and connectivity to the inhabitants. This development is the playground of the rivalry between India and China. The signature by Kathmandu, in 2017, of American aid of 500 million dollars to improve the electricity transmission network thus arouses the discontent of Beijing, which sees it as a means of baiting Nepal towards the Indo camp. peaceful.
At the Rasuwa-Gadhi border post, the villagers blame the MCC, acronym for the American agency in question (Millennium Challenge Corporation), for an informal blockade that China is imposing on trade at this single land crossing point. Despite the agreements, Chinese customs officials no longer allow goods to enter, but do not hesitate to authorize them, in the other direction, to Nepal. “Because of the MCC, China is punishing us”, laments Dawa Roje, the owner of the empty rooms River View hotel.
“Competitive but negligent diplomacy”
Faced with controversies, the MCC project did not take off. Just like the one, pushed by the Chinese camp, of the new Silk Road, when an adventurous train line between Lhassa and Kathmandu should pass here, in Rasuwa. “With this rivalry between India and China, Nepal is the subject of an escalation of agreements, in a competitive but negligent diplomacy, because these signed contracts are not always implemented”, underlines analyst Yubaraj Ghimire.
From India to Bhutan, the border with China heightens sensitivities. Nibbled on in remote areas or challenged by military incursions, it is the subject of worrying activity on the part of Beijing. The turning point was made in June 2020 during the crash in Galwan, in the Indian state of Ladakh, when at least 25 Indian and Chinese soldiers killed each other. India has since consolidated its military positions. “The hostility between the two giants is increased tenfold, comments Yubaraj Ghimire. In Nepal, border areas are also being violated by China.»
→ REPORT. Between India and China, the tense face-to-face on the invisible border of Ladakh
In the meantime, hundreds of Chinese workers are working in the power plants on the border. “China is already inside Nepal! “, quipped Nissan Gajurel, a businessman from Rasuwa. Beijing is increasing its investments in trade, tourism and reconstruction linked to the 2015 earthquake. The regime is also sending battalions of teachers to learn Chinese from the Nepalese, gradually turning them away from the Indian big brother. “It is also the more abrupt behavior of India of Narendra Modi which pushes us to turn to China”, regrets Hari Sharma, former advisor to prime ministers.
In Kathmandu, in an unstable political climate, the leaders do not know which way to turn. And multiply the changes of allegiance to the two giants, to the rhythm of resounding agreements.
————
Growing competition between India and China
October 4, 2019. Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reiterates that India will not join the Chinese New Silk Road project.
June 15, 2020. Nearly 600 Indian and Chinese soldiers clash, without guns, along a disputed portion of the Sino-Indian border. The skirmish killed 20 people on the Indian side and around ten Chinese soldiers.
June 29, 2020. India bans 59 Chinese apps, including the very popular TikTok.
October 11, 2021. A thirteenth round of negotiations between China and India since the clash of June 15, 2020 has ended without progress.
.