China pledges 3m USD military assistance to Nepal

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Nepal News
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leader of the Chinese military delegation Major General Jia Xiaoning, left, and acting chief of Nepal Army Major General Taran Jung Bahadur Singh exchange notes after the signing of the Chinese military aid to Nepal about three million US dollars at the Nepal Army headquarters, Bhadrakali, on 16 December 2009.(DPR/Nepal)

In a move that may raise concerns in India, China has pledged military aid worth 20.8 million Yuan (about 3 million USD) to Nepal for the supply of “non-lethal” military hardware including logistics and training the Nepal Army.

The visiting Chinese military delegation led by Major General Jia Jialing met defence minister Bidhya Bhandari on Wednesday and made the announcement.

According to reports, China will supply 20 million Yuan worth of “non-lethal” military hardware to Nepal and the remaining 800,000 Yuan will go into constructing a “friendship building” in the Nepali territory along the Nepal-China border.

A Memorandum of Understanding regarding the Chinese aid will be signed between the visiting Chinese delegation and Nepal Army at the army headquarters soon.

During the meeting, minister Bhandari is also reported to have requested Chinese assistance for extending the army hospital at Chhauni, Kathmandu.

The Chinese military delegation has also invited Defence Minister Bhandari and Defence Secretary Navin Ghimire for a visit to China, it is learnt .

China has pledged the new military aid package to Nepal at a time when Nepal Army chief Chhatra Man Singh Gurung is in India meeting Indian foreign and defence ministers, senior government officials and army top brass to push for a better military and civil relations between the two countries including more military aid.

India recently announced that it will resume the supply of weapons and lethal military hardware to Nepal which it had stopped following the royal take over in 2005.

China had pledged a slew of financial assistance to Nepal, including military for the supply of “non-lethal” security equipments and training the Nepal Army during bilateral talks held by visiting deputy executive vice-chair of Tibet Autonomous Region, Hao Peng with Nepalese authorities on 25 November.

China has also announced that it will give about 270,000 USD to rebuild its Consulate General Office in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital.

China has also recently increased its annual assistance to Nepal by about 216,000 USD, which was limited to about 150,000 USD until last year.