US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU2284

C O N F I D E N T I A L KATHMANDU 002284 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SA/INS, EAP/CM, LONDON FOR POL/GURNEY, NSC FOR 
MILLARD, BEIJING PLEASE PASS TO CHENGDU 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2013 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, NP, CH 
SUBJECT: NEPAL: CHINESE REPORTEDLY ARREST FOUR SUSPECTED 
MAOISTS; HAVE NO RESERVATIONS ABOUT US SECURITY ASSISTANCE 
 
REF: KATHMANDU 2098 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Michael E. Malinowski for Reasons 1.5 (b,d). 
 
1.  (C)  Summary:  The Chinese Ambassador in Kathmandu, Sun 
Heping, confirmed that his government has no reservations 
about U.S. security assistance to Nepal and expressed strong 
opposition to Nepal's Maoist insurgents.  He was unable to 
confirm reports in the Nepali press that Chinese authorities 
had arrested four suspected Nepali Maoists attempting to 
smuggle arms across the border earlier in the month.  Embassy 
requests Department's assistance in verifying these reports. 
End summary. 
 
2.  (U) On November 19 the local press reported that Chinese 
authorities had arrested four suspected Nepali Maoists in 
Khasa (Zhangmu), a Chinese border town, earlier in the month. 
 The Maoists were reportedly arrested while attempting to 
smuggle weapons across the border.  At least one of the 
reports alleged that Maoists have been successfully smuggling 
weapons across the border for a long time.  A subsequent 
article in the local press the following day reported that 
Chinese authorities had closed the checkpoint along the 
border in the northeastern district of Taplejung (near 
Tingkye), reportedly stranding a number of Nepalis who had 
gone across the border to buy provisions. 
 
3.  (SBU)  At a social gathering on November 19, DCM asked 
Chinese Ambassador Sun Yeping and political officer Cheng Ji 
about the reported arrests.  Both said they could not confirm 
the story, with Cheng contending that the local press reports 
were the only information Embassy staff had of the alleged 
incident.  The Ambassador stressed, however, that allegations 
that weapons were regularly smuggled across the border are 
false, but acknowledged that communications equipment could 
ahve been exported from China through criminal channels. 
 
4.  (C)  Ambassador Malinowski thanked Ambassador Sun for his 
interview, recounted in the English-language Kathmandu Post 
on November 15, in which he indicated that the Chinese 
government, contrary to Nepali Maoist propaganda, is not 
concerned that U.S. security assistance to Nepal poses a 
threat to Chinese interests.  (Note:  In the interview, the 
Ambassador stated categorically that there is no evidence 
that the USG is attempting to build a military base near the 
Chinese border--an incredible but nonetheless frequent 
refrain in Maoist screeds.  End note.)  Ambassador Sun 
confirmed that USG and Chinese interests in Nepal--stability, 
security and peace--coincide.  He reiterated that his 
government does not support the Maoists--whom the Chinese 
call "anti-government forces" and indicated that he believes 
Government security forces should continue to fight against 
the insurgents in the near term, rather than attempt to seek 
a ceasefire. 
 
5.  (C)  Comment and Action Request:  The Chinese Embassy is 
generally tight-lipped--especially in public--about its views 
on the Maoists, typically defaulting to a standard line that 
the insurgency is an internal affair.  The reported arrests, 
if true, indicate a more active--and less 
neutral--involvement. Embassy requests Department assistance 
in confirming the reports. In their most recent propaganda, 
the Maoists have attempted to fan fears that USG security 
assistance (to include an imaginary military base they allege 
is being built on the Chinese border) threatens both Indian 
and Chinese national interests.  The Chinese Ambassador's 
uncharacteristic public comments are certainly helpful in 
debunking this Maoist myth.  End Comment and Action Request. 
MALINOWSKI