In this episode of 'National Security Conversations', Dr. Happymon Jacob speaks to Amish Mulmi, author of All Roads Lead North: Nepal's Turn to China. They discuss the warming of Sino-Nepal relations against the backdrop of India’s neighbourhood strategy.

The author argues that New Delhi’s view of South Asia is limited to a security perspective alone and that it is important to consider the trans-Himalayan links from historical and cultural perspectives to better understand the neighbourhood.

The conversation briefly analyses the history of Sino-Nepal relations and delivers critical insights regarding India’s informal blockades against Nepal in 1961 and 2015.  The discussion probes China’s debt-trap diplomacy and analyses the intersection of Indian and Chinese interests in Nepal.

The conversation also answers key questions as to how Nepal’s elite view the country’s “special relationship with India” and whether China uses Buddhism as a geopolitical tool.

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