Dharamshala, 13th November: According to ThePrint, Experts and researchers on Friday said at the virtual All India Conference of China Studies, hosted by the Institute of China Studies, that China’s foreign policy in South Asia is shaped by the issue of Tibet in its engagement with Nepal, using Buddhism as a tool of “soft power,” and leveraging the “perennially tense” India-Pakistan relationship (ICS).
Tibet is being used to link with Nepal
Tibet is crucial to China’s connection with Nepal, according to Amish Raj Mulmi, the consultant editor at Kathmandu’s Writer’s Side literary agency. Mulmi noted that China’s involvement in Nepal is based on “halting any political expressions by the Tibetan exile population within the country and restricting the entry of new Tibetan nationals.” Hundreds of protesters, mostly Tibetan refugees, were jailed in October 2019 ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Nepal.
Mulmi went on to say that in recent years, Chinese ambassadors have increased their media “outreach” in Nepal. He cited Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi, who made at least six interviews to Nepalese media and wrote five articles for Nepalese publications in 2020, followed by four op-eds this year on Chinese Covid-19 vaccine support to Nepal.
Buddhism as a soft power tool
According to Chulanee Attanayake, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies, China exploits Buddhism as a soft power tactic in South Asia. She said that China has placed a strong emphasis on faith diplomacy in recent years… China, in particular, utilizes Buddhist history and Buddhist ties to bolster its influence in South Asia. Beijing promotes Buddhism abroad, according to Attanayake, through programs like the International Council of Vesak’s ‘Common Buddhist Text’ project, which is housed at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University in Thailand. The irony is that China is a Communist country, which means that religion is illegal.
Information gathered from ThePrint