Kathmandu, July 30

Lisa Curtis, senior director for South and Central Asia, US National Security Council said China was meddling in internal affairs of Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Curtis made the remark at a Brookings Institution webinar yesterday, assessing China’s growing regional influence and strategy over neighbouring countries.

“Turning to Nepal and Bhutan we see more examples of China disregarding the sovereignty of its neighbours. In May, Chinese state-run media claimed that Mt Everest, a symbol of Nepali sovereignty, actually belonged to China. Earlier this month, China asserted a new territorial claim in eastern Bhutan,” she said. China’s influence, she said, has grown in India’s neighbours, namely

Nepal and in Sri Lanka. China is not only using its economic clout in these countries but also getting more involved in their internal politics, she said in response to a query.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 31, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.