NEPAL: CHINESE REPORTEDLY ARREST FOUR SUSPECTED

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