“The trouble with the world is not that people know too little; its that they know so many things that aren’t so.”
-Mark Twain.
#######################
N. P. Upadhyaya (Aryal)
Kathmandu: Nepali intellectuals remained engrossed in speculating as to why the centenarian US veteran diplomat Dr. Henry Kissinger landed in Beijing, July, 2023.
Interpretations varied from person to person as per their entrenched political preference.
However, we have tried to offer someof our own observations as to why this ace US diplomat of the present times landed in Beijing?
Both Chinese and the US officials beamingly claim that Dr. Henry Kissinger may have landed in China not less than a hundred times.
Let’s not underestimate this International relations expert his contributions, both visible and invisible, in bringing China close to the US and vice versa.
In effect, it was this towering political personality of all times who “normalized” the estranged China-US frozen relations until the early seventies.
We salute this US diplomat for his indomitable courage in giving a shape to the US-China relations.
The normalization of the US-China ties brought many countries at work clandestinely including, Nepal, Pakistan and reportedly Romania as well.
Back to the point:
It could be that Dr. Henry Kissinger may have dropped in Beijing this time to convince China that “let’s be good friends…take India as an international joker who could swing to Russia and then switch to France.
“We can’t afford to continue adversarial relations with one another for long”, Dr. Kissinger said to President Xi.
“If the US and China so desire, we can ensure world peace”, is what Dr. Kissinger told President Xi at the guest house wherein the latter was given a rousing welcome by the host China’s President.
The US ace diplomat Kissinger mainly aired that “channels for dialogues” must be kept open by both US and China and sought the active help of Xi in ending overly stretched Ukrainian war.
Channels of communications deter the threat of confrontation, opined the seasoned US diplomat.
India’s swinging from one pole to another is treacherous in that the swing is only to equip with weapons and also to signal the Russians that if you deny and challenge my credentials, the US and France are here to supply Raphael’s fighter jets.
The US understand as to why India has glued to USA but has so far failed to “read and understand” the South Asian politics where India is being weaponized much to the deterioration of the South Asian political order.
Thus, more and more Complexities with each Modi’s trip are being added in South Asia.
Centenarian Kissinger’s Beijing visit may have puzzled the former subjects of the Mughals and of the Britishers and may be thinking what if China and US reconcile against all the existing odds?
India’s ace political commentators forward suggestions to their government not to tease China at the behest of the US and vice versa.
Though the US itself is playing double with China, some say.
Liberal US President Biden met President Xi Jinping in Bali, the previous year, if one were to recall.
Very freshly, US Secretary Antony Blinken was in Beijing and talked with President Xi.
Defense Secretary Lyod Austin then went to Beijing.
And above all, President Xi Jinping met the elderly and the ace US diplomat of all times, Dr. Henry Kissinger (100), July 20, 2023, reports the CNN.
It has been taken as a surprise visit of Kissinger which must have meaning underneath.
To recall, Dr. Henry Kissinger was the one who took main initiative to normalize US-China ties as back as in July 9-11, 1971.
It was after this visit, a year later President Richard Nixon landed in Beijing and normalized US-China ties.
The visit commenced on February 21 to February 28, 1972 and the accompanying US officials were Mrs. Nixon, U.S. Secretary of State William Rogers, Assistant to the President Dr. Henry Kissinger, and other American officials.
President Nixon and Prime Minister Chou En-lai then normalized their estranged ties.
As far as I recall, Kissinger wanted to fly right from Kathmandu to Beijing in the early seventies, however, the Royal palace then concluded that such a flight of the US dignitary from Kathmandu may dampen the already cold ties with India.
Yet King Birendra reportedly remained key to this normalization process.
King Birendra appealed his Harvard teacher to understand Nepal’s sensitivities.
Dr. Kissinger got the point as China and India have had already confronted in 1962.
Pages from history:
Earlier it was the rumored straight denial first by Nepal to allow Dr. Kissinger to fly to Beijing for fear of India, which is why Kissinger took Pakistani President Yahya Khan into confidence and then he flew from Islamabad to Beijing July 9-11.
It was a time when Pakistan and India were at war.
Some say that the US diplomat only used Pakistan to “normalization” of its ties with China.
However, after luring Pakistan, Kissinger accomplished his main task to inch closer to China but soon after the emergence of Bangladesh took a formal shape.
This means that President Yahya Khan was lured by the US diplomat only to normalize its ties with China.
Pakistan heavily relied on the US that the USs 7th Fleet would approach for helping Pakistan to counter India, however, it was a faux pas.
But as a committed US diplomat, Kissinger valued much the Pakistani support extended that time when the US wanted to normalize its ties with China.
So, Pakistan shall never be forgotten, I guess.
Yes! Dr. Henry Kissinger was in Kathmandu in January 1985, as authenticated by Professor Mohan Lohani, who was then the President of the Nepal Council of World Affairs (NCWA).
King Birendra was one of the obedient students of German born veteran American diplomat who in himself is a history.
King Mahendra during his two time visit to the US had developed intimate ties with Dr. Kissinger and that was the reason of King Birendra being sent to US for receiving some lessons from the US ace diplomat.
While in Kathmandu, Dr. Kissinger addressed a NCWA large gathering at Hotel Shankar, in January 1985 and I was one of the invitees.
International media authentically reports that in July 1971, Dr. Henry Kissinger became the first high-ranking US official to visit Communist China. His secret meetings with Chinese leaders paved the way for then US President Richard Nixon’s “ice-breaking” trip the following year.
In the course of his China’s secret visit, Dr. Kissinger met Premier Chou-en Lai.
And here is the most important and authentic report on how Pakistan came to help the USA, (Retrieved from ‘The Beijing-Washington Back channel and Henry Kissinger’s secret trip to China, September 1970-July 1971, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 66, Edited by William Burr, February 27, 2002 which reads in part:
“Earlier efforts to make contact with China having gone nowhere, in September 1970 Nixon directed Kissinger to renew the effort. An October 1970 meeting with Pakistan’s ruler Yahya Khan had some potential for expediting contacts because Pakistan had provided a channel for earlier Sino-American communication in 1969. Nevertheless, as the documents show, Kissinger was also trying other channels, such as the Romanian government and an old friend, Jean Sainteny, who had connections at the Chinese embassy in Paris. The Pakistani channel produced an important message from Zhou in December 1970, which quickly generated a White House response”.
As stated earlier, Pakistan was then government by President Yahya Khan.
However, Yahya Khan had no inkling that his country was soon to be bifurcated. President Khan was taken for a ride.
Clearly, the US too wanted India to prevail in South Asia, as would be evident from the current hobnob of the US with India. .
President Khan was used and overused by th US President Nixon and diplomat Kissinger.
Since then China and the US normalized their tensed relations for several decades, however, the Taiwan issue of late has brought the two once again on a confrontational mood.
Many say that Dr. Kissinger this time was in Beijing as a special emissary of Joe Biden. This is very close to the fact, as I understand.
If Kissinger’s Beijing’s visit is once again normalization of ties in between the two then what is for sure is that PM Modi’s India is being made an international joker.
The US, if so, is very likely to take India for a ride resulting in cutting down the size of India by seducing India to challenge China as the US was at its back.
If and when China and India meet each other at the “border”, what is guaranteed that India will find itself in awkward position even in keeping various provinces unified and a guaranteed Himalayan defeat.
Media reports have it that some Indian provinces in North-East India now wish to disintegrate (e.g. Tripura, Manipur, Arunachal, Assam and Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland) as the Central Indian government has so far failed to control the ethnic conflict that is there for two months straight in Manipur, Imphal.
All these States are close to China borders. China must have been watching.
Modi knew that two women in Manipur were paraded naked, May 04, 2023, yet he went on a pleasure trip to the city of perfumes-Paris.
Having said this all, the West’s penchant to weaponize PM Modi bodes ill for South Asian regional peace and stability.
If and when peace gets disturbed in South Asia, the West must be answerable for all India’s inhuman excesses a la Indian Illegally Occupied Kashmir-the largest open-air concentration camp in India that is the darling of the West. Nepali politics is talked to be poised for yet another political movement.
French President now is in Sri Lanka .
That’s all.