Russia's savage attack on Ukraine has been justifiably condemned round the globe. The war has now entered its 13th day, and scenes of people's sufferings are simply heartbreaking.
Nepal has joined the group of 141 countries by voting for the UN resolution criticising Russia's cruel military intervention. India and China are among the 35 countries that have remained neutral. Five countries - Myanmar, Syria, Belarus and North Korea - have supported Russia in its violent hostility towards Ukraine.
Similarly, Nepal has voted in favour of the UN Human Rights Council's proposal to investigate violations of human rights in the war along with 31 other nations.
India and China were again among the 13 absentees.
Russia and Eritrea alone voted against it.
This war has sent a chill up the spine of several countries. Taiwan is a burning example. China is alleged to be flying its military aircraft near its border.
It is like the marching of Russian troops along the border of Ukraine, which eventually culminated into a full-scale war. It is but natural that small countries like Bhutan and Nepal should be concerned by the Russian assault on Ukraine.
This is not the first time that Russia has unleashed its military might over its neighbours. Ukraine's Crimea was occupied by Russia in 2014. Earlier, Georgia also had to face Russian attack. Recently, Russia declared Luhansk and Donesk, two breakaway areas of the Donbas region of Ukraine, as republics and offered them recognition.
Nepal has seen similar events near its border. The first one was the forceful occupation of Tibet by China.
Its chief, the Dalai Lama, had to flee to India, and many Tibetans are living in refugee camps in several countries around the globe. Many of them can be seen in India scattered in as many as 45 settlements and also in Nepal in the Bouddha area. Several countries, including the United States, have been raising the voice of independence of Tibet with China.
The second example is the merger of Sikkim in India in 1975. This was, however, the people's will. A referendum was held, and majority of the people opted for assimilation with India.
There were a few voices of protests against this Indian move, but they slowly died down. This, however, created suspicion in the Nepali politicians. Consequently, B P Koirala, the former prime minister, returned to Nepal from his exile in India with a campaign of national reconciliation in an effort to secure unity among the political forces in Nepal in 1976.
Nepal shares its borders with the two Asian giants - China and India - as is Ukraine besides Russia. Nepal is in a worse situation as there are two huge countries sandwiching Nepal as against a solitary Russia in the case of Ukraine. Nepal should thus not develop relations with countries that are inimical to India and China
Nepal enjoys very good relations with China and India. But political relations do not take long to make a nosedive like the Himalayan weather. India and China were great friends in the fifties as exemplified by the slogan 'Indian Chinese brothers, brothers'. But they fought a war in the sixties. Since then, the relationship between these two countries has remained at a low ebb.
The recent standoff between India and China is a pointer in this direction.
It is against this backdrop that Nepal proposed itself as a zone of peace during the reign of King Birendra.
But it failed to receive a nod from India despite being endorsed by 130 countries, including China. It has then been dumped in the political freeze even though occasionally raised in political circles at the present.
The present war is because of Ukraine's desire to join NATO and being close to Europe and America to the dislike of Russia. In fact, ideally speaking, whether a country wants to remain non-aligned or join a military alliance is the decision of that particular government.
No government can mount a heavy attack just because of this exercise of individual liberty.
Nepal shares its borders with the two Asian giants - China and India - as is Ukraine besides Russia.
Nepal is in a worse situation as there are two huge countries sandwiching Nepal as against a solitary Russia in the case of Ukraine. Nepal should thus not develop relations with countries that are inimical to India and China.
It means that Nepal should not show unusual proximity to Pakistan in a way that it hurts India. The example is that of King Gyanendra talking to the Pakistani President Musharraf instead of doing so first with India. Consequently, he was never in India's good books and had to pay a heavy price.
When Prachanda first visited China after becoming the premier, it had raised several eyebrows both in Nepal and India.
Because it has become the tradition to visit India after getting into the helms of affairs in Nepal. Prachanda defended his visit by saying that it was not political but merely aimed at attending a sporting event.
Similarly, Nepal should not mingle with countries hostile to China like Taiwan or even the United States in a way that it affects its strategic interests. This is why many people were apprehensive against signing the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact because of the possibility of annoying China.
The lesson is then that a small country should not hobnob with a country inimical to its powerful neighbours. Political parties of all hues should realise this reality and form a common understanding to maintain an equilibrium with the neighbours through the exercise of successful diplomacy.
But the reality is that Nepali diplomacy has reached its nadir at the present juncture. It has fumbled repeatedly whether in the resolution of the MCC or the Indo-Nepal border dispute or even the drowning of Jai Singh Dhami when the iron wire of the tuin was dismantled over the Mahakali River. In the MCC episode, the diplomacy was conspicuous by its absence when it should have played a leading role.
The lack of skillful diplomacy has landed Nepal in an embarrassing situation, especially in post-Republican Nepal.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 9, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
