Nepal Foreign Ministry Denies Reports of Land Encroachment by China, Contrary to Claims of Locals

Kathmandu, September 23: Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied reports of land encroachment by China in Humla district of Nepal contrary to the claims made by locals of the district.

Issuing a press release on Wednesday evening, Foreign Ministry claimed that recent construction by China fell on the Chinese side and not on the Nepali side as earlier claimed by locals of the Humla district. Also Read | COVID-19 Claims 200,000 Lives in US As Donald Trump Vilifies Science, Prioritizes Politics.

"The Department of Survey, Government of Nepal, based on the official records, reports of the joint field inspection and boundary maps, has verified and confirmed that the said buildings are not located within the Nepali territory," MoFA said in the release.

Local media since last week has carried reports of land encroachment by China by illegally constructing nine buildings in Lapcha Bagar area of Nepal's Humla District which is only accessible by airways. Also Read | Johnson & Johnson Kicks Off COVID-19 Vaccine Final Trials on 60,000 Volunteers, Results Expected by Early 2021.

The release from the Ministry further claimed that same sort of issue was raised in 2016 which turned down the earlier claims stating, "It may be recalled that the matter of buildings in question also surfaced in some media reports in 2016. An inter-ministerial team after the field inspection had concluded that the said buildings were located approximately one kilometre inside the Chinese territory from the Nepal-China border."

"The boundary between Nepal and China was delineated and demarcated based on the Boundary Treaty and Boundary Protocols singed between the two countries. Nepal and China have always maintained close communication on border matters," the release concluded.

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