India on Wednesday rejected Nepal’s objection to New Delhi and Beijing resuming trade through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand, stating that Kathmandu’s claims on the territory are “neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence”.
“Any unilateral artificial enlargement of territorial claims is untenable,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
Earlier on Wednesday, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement noting that “the official map of Nepal has been included in the Constitution of Nepal and that the map shows Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani east of the Mahakali River as integral parts of” the country.
“It is also known that the Government of Nepal has been urging the Government of India not to carry out any activities such as road construction/expansion, border trade in the said area,” said Kathmandu. “It is also known that even the friendly country China has been informed that the said area is Nepali territory.”
Nepal was “committed to resolving the border issue between the two countries through diplomatic means on the basis of historical treaties and agreements, facts, maps and evidence”, it added.
The statement came a day after India and China agreed to resume border trade through the Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand, Shipki La Pass in Himachal Pradesh and Nathu La Pass in Sikkim.
Jaiswal said on Wednesday that India’s position on the matter had been “consistent and clear”, noting that border trade between India and China through Lipulekh had begun in 1954 and had continued for decades.
“This trade had been disrupted in recent years due to Covid and other developments, and both sides have now agreed to resume it,” the statement said.
Jaiswal reaffirmed New Delhi’s willingness to have a “constructive interaction with Nepal on resolving agreed outstanding boundary issues through dialogue and diplomacy”.
The border issue began in 2019 after Kathmandu objected to a new map released by India, which showed the Kalapani area, where Lipulekh Pass is located, as part of Indian territory. Nepal claims the Kalapani-Limpiadhura-Lipulek area as its own.
In response, New Delhi said that it had not made any change to its border with Nepal and that the new map depicts Indian territory accurately.
The tensions escalated in May 2020 when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a new route for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via the Lipulekh Pass.
Nepal has repeatedly claimed that India’s decision to build the road was a breach of an agreement between the two countries. It claims the Lipulekh Pass on the basis of a treaty signed with British colonisers in 1816.
In June 2020, the Nepali Parliament amended its Constitution to include a new political map of the country featuring the Kalapani-Limpiadhura-Lipulek area as its territory.
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