Nepal's parliament is expected this week to formally approve a revised map of the country, including three areas it disputes with neighbouring India. The redrawing covers a relatively small region high in the Himalayas but has stirred simmering tensions between India and China, two of the world's biggest powers.
In Nepal, which is sandwiched between the two, people have reacted angrily, protesting and accusing India of disregarding the country's sovereignty. Recent months have seen a new Indian road on a strategic mountain pass fan tensions, as did a revised map put out by Delhi showing disputed areas as belonging to India. India and China are already locked in a military standoff in the northern Ladakh region of disputed Kashmir.
Nepal and India share an open border of about 1,880 km. The two countries have finalised maps covering 98% of the boundary, but the Lipulekh pass, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura in western Nepal remain contested. Together, the three areas cover about 370 sq km. The strategic Lipulekh pass connects the Indian state of Uttarakhand with the Tibet region of China.
In retaliation for India's map, Nepal published its revised map last month showing the disputed areas within Nepal, infuriating India. The amendment to replace the map is expected to be passed in Nepal's parliament this week. Nepal's foreign minister, Pradeep Gyawali, told the BBC that the 1816 Sugauli treaty clearly states the three areas belong to Nepal. India argues that the exact co-ordinates of the river mentioned in the treaty were not specified, and improved survey techniques have redrawn the map since.
The so-called 'cartographic war' has triggered nationalist sentiment on both sides. In reality, all three contested areas have been firmly under India's control for the past 60 years, and the people living there are now Indian citizens. Nepal, a landlocked nation, has historically depended on India, but in recent years has drifted away from India's influence as China has filled the space with investments, aid and loans. China considers Nepal a key partner in its Belt and Road Initiative.
