The two countries signed the 'Boundary Protocol' in 1962 based on the Nepal-China border supervision of 1960 and the border treaty of 1961. The 'Protocol' was signed by the then Foreign Minister Tulsi Giri on behalf of Nepal.
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It has been found that China has agreed on cross-border trade with India through Lipulek, contrary to the 'Boundary Protocol' (Boundary Charter) with Nepal. According to foreign experts, China accepted the Lipulek area as Nepali territory in 1988 when the 'Boundary Protocol' was renewed. But without even informing Nepal, China and India have agreed to trade from Lipulekh.
The two countries signed the 'Boundary Protocol' in 1962 based on the Nepal-China border supervision of 1960 and the border treaty of 1961. The 'Protocol' was signed by the then Foreign Minister Tulsi Giri on behalf of Nepal.
Buddhinarayan Shrestha, the former director general of the Department of Surveyors, says that 79 big pillars were buried to determine the border between the two countries based on the 'protocol'. According to the protocol, the Nepal-China border is spread over a length of 1,414 km.
According to Shrestha, the 'protocol' was renewed in 1979 and 1988. The first renewal was signed by the then Foreign Minister KB Shahi from Nepal. The second renewal was signed by Foreign Minister Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay on behalf of Nepal. An 11-member team headed by Upadhyaya went to China and signed the protocol. "I participated in the team as the director general of the measuring department," said Shrestha.
Before the first renewal of the border protocol, the then Prime Minister Kirtinidhi Bishta visited China in 1978 and the then King Birendra Shah in 1987. According to the records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the then Prime Minister BP Koirala visited China in 1960 before the Nepal-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship.
The next year in 1961, during the visit of the then King Mahendra Shah to China, a border treaty was signed between the two countries. According to former foreign secretary and former ambassador Madhurman Acharya, when the boundary protocol was signed in 1988, China accepted the territory including Lipudhura as an integral part of Nepal.
This is the document still in existence regarding the 'Boundary Protocol' between Nepal and China. According to an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after the 'protocol' was renewed at that time, the Indian side expressed its objection through various channels.
Since then, the 'Protocol' has not been renewed, whereas when the 'Protocol' was prepared 63 years ago, it was said to regularly review international border issues and prepare an updated document. According to border experts, the ``periodic meeting'' regarding the ``protocol'' was being pushed due to the ``disagreement'' between the two countries, especially regarding the height of Mount Everest and the border pillar connected to Lama Bagar in Dolakha.
The different claims about the height of Mount Everest in both countries have been determined on 23 November 2077 after a joint technical team has been assigned to study and measure. Even though Nepal is trying to solve the dispute by saying that pillars number 57, 58 and 59 have been buried in Tippa from Lamabagar in Dolakha to the north, destroying about 6 hectares of land, the Chinese side is not ready.
India has been occupying the Nepalese land near Lipulek for decades by forcibly keeping the army in the Kalapani area. In 2015, India and China agreed to trade through Lipulek to further strengthen this. At that time, Nepal government sent a 'diplomatic note' to both countries expressing objection. While sending a reply, China expressed its intention to "provide facts and evidence about this and not to do any activity that would disturb the sovereignty of Nepal". India did not send a reply. Sushil Koirala was the Prime Minister at that time.
After the Chinese response, Nepal, which is gathering documents, became the Prime Minister due to the change of power of UML President KP Sharma Oli. After that, the issue of trade between China and India through Lipupas did not proceed. Now the same consensus has been revived.
Protests have already started in Nepal over this. The government is also preparing to send a diplomatic note. Former Foreign Secretary Acharya Lipulek analyzes the China-India agreement to trade through "developed international geopolitics" as a "byproduct". "Both countries have agreed to do business through Lipupas before, but later that agreement was in tatters," he, who is also a former ambassador, says, "Now both countries have agreed to do business from there." The root cause of this is the ups and downs in the relationship between the two countries with the United States and the developments it has caused.'
Acharya says that Nepal should emphasize on sending a diplomatic note on this matter, increasing diplomatic dialogue and keeping its issues firmly to the concerned parties. He suggested that preparations should be made in such a way that Prime Minister Oli's upcoming visit to China and India should be included. "There is more political commotion than diplomatic initiatives on such matters, it does not benefit the country," he says.
Buddhi Narayan Shrestha, the former Director General of Surveyors Department, commented that since India has been showing disrespectful behavior towards Nepal in the international border issue, the Chinese side has also become its ally. In this regard, he suggested that Nepal should maintain its position with the Chinese side through strong diplomatic means. Shrestha said to Kantipur, "Nepal needs to send a strong message to both neighbors on this issue through diplomatic channels. It should be said that this is our territory, unilateral work cannot be done without our approval.'
