 Nepal agrees fuel deal with China to curb reliance on India Kathmandu (AFP) March 24, 2016 - Nepal has secured a deal for China to supply it with fuel, as the energy-starved Himalayan nation seeks to deepen ties with Beijing and reduce its reliance on India. The agreement was signed during a visit by Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to Beijing, following months of frosty relations with New Delhi, traditionally the sole supplier of fuel to landlocked Nepal. "Both sides agreed to conclude a commercial deal on the supply of petroleum products from China to Nepal", the two countries said in a joint statement released in Beijing on Wednesday, without giving further details. Nepal's acute dependence on India was underscored by a recent months-long border blockade by demonstrators from its Madhesi minority, who were protesting against a new constitution. The slow movement of cargo at checkpoints where no protests were taking place prompted Kathmandu to accuse New Delhi, which has close links to the Madhesis, of imposing an "unofficial blockade", a charge India denied. The blockade, which ended last month, sparked severe shortages of gas, medicines and other vital supplies and forced Nepal to turn to its only other neighbour, China for emergency fuel. Officials in Kathmandu welcomed this week's deal but warned that Nepal's mountainous terrain would make it difficult to transport supplies between the two countries. "This is a good start but there is a lot we still need to do in terms of road connectivity and infrastructure development... among other issues," said Sushil Bhattarai, acting deputy managing director at the state-run Nepal Oil Corporation. "It is not going to happen overnight," Bhattarai told AFP. China has also agreed to build oil storage facilities for Nepal, the joint statement said. In October Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding with China National United Oil Corporation, its first ever fuel agreement with China, as the shortages led to overnight queues at gas stations. Prime Minister Oli's visit to China comes a month after his trip to India -- a traditional first overseas stop for Nepali premiers -- to mend ties strained by the border blockade.
|
Beijing Thursday called on Laos to bolster protection for Chinese citizens within its borders after six of its nationals were wounded by gunmen in the third attack of its kind this year.
The shooting took place north of the tourist hotspot Vang Vieng late Wednesday, when assailants opened fire on a Chinese passenger bus carrying 28 people from Kunming in southwestern China to the Laos capital Vientiane.
Six of the passengers were injured, two of them seriously, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters.
"After the incident, the Chinese foreign ministry and embassy in Laos quickly launched representations to Laos, demanding Laos send military and police assistance to fully rescue the wounded... and to take concrete steps to strengthen the protection of Chinese citizens' safety," she said.
The foreign ministry batted down speculation that the victims were targeted on the basis of their nationality, despite two other similarly mysterious attacks this year that have killed three Chinese citizens and injured others in the mountainous region.
"When the criminals carried out their crimes it was not on the basis of nationality," Chua said.
The other attacks, in January and early March, prompted travel warnings from the US embassy in Vientiane.
The warning cited "the unpredictable nature of the violence and the lack of official information regarding possible motives or a Lao government response."
Laos is tightly run by its opaque Communist leaders, who bar a free press and have not offered a motive for the assaults.
The recent attacks have taken place in provinces historically home to outbreaks of insurgent violence waged by ethnic minorities against the country's repressive one-party state.
But Beijing's growing footprint in the poor nation has also stirred unease among locals in recent years.
China has invested heavily in Laos and capitalised on its bountiful water, forestry and mineral resources.
While this flood of foreign investment has fuelled impressive economic growth in the landlocked country over the past decade, the gains have not been evenly distributed and poverty remains widespread.
Normally isolated Laos will open its doors to host US President Barack Obama later this year, the culmination of its chairmanship of the ASEAN regional bloc.
| . |
|
|
Tweet |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
