Several members of Parliament have asked the government to caution—and seek clarification from—Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song over his ‘undiplomatic’ remarks on Nepal’s energy trading with India and the state of the Indian economy.

On Saturday, speaking at a discussion titled ‘China in global economy and its impact in Nepal’, Chen spoke at length about Nepal’s trade with India.

“Unfortunately, you have a neighbour like India, but fortunately, you have a neighbour like India, because India is a huge market with a huge potential which you can tap in to,” the Chinese ambassador, who assumed office in Kathmandu in January this year, said. “But at the same time, India's policy towards Nepal and other neighbours is not so friendly and not so beneficial to Nepal. So we call that policy of constraints.”

The ambassador’s statement has sparked a controversy in Nepal, drawing flak from all quarters. Several politicians and foreign policy experts have taken an exception to the ambassador’s comments.

Speaking at the regular House session and at a meeting of the International Relations and Tourism Committee of the House of Representatives on Thursday, several members of Parliament across the political spectrum urged the government to summon the ambassador and warn him against making such remarks in the future.

“Ambassadors, particularly from the neighbouring countries, should be mindful of Nepal’s geo-political sensitivity while making any statement,” Madhav Kumar Nepal, a former prime minister and Chairman of the CPN (Unified Socialist), said at the meeting of the International Relations and Tourism Committee of the lower house on Thursday.

After several lawmakers took strong exception to the ambassador’s statement, the committee instructed Foreign Minister NP Saud, who was present at the committee meeting, to caution the diplomat.

Speaking at the meeting, Raj Kishor Yadav, the committee chair, said Nepal is a sovereign and independent country and it conducts its foreign policy independently.

“We have asked the foreign minister to caution the Chinese ambassador and seek a clarification, asking him not to make such remarks in the future,” Yadav said. “The government should sensitise the diplomats about our sensitivities on a serious note so that such incidents do not occur in the future.”

Former prime minister Nepal also said foreign ambassadors should understand that Nepal is in a very sensitive position. “Envoys should speak with due respect to Nepal’s geopolitical sensitivity and the country’s non-alignment policy,” Nepal said. “Speaking against each other will invite geopolitical complexities, so the ambassadors should be mindful while speaking.”

Bhim Acharya, of the main opposition CPN-UML, said that it is not good [for an ambassador] to make remarks on the internal affairs of any country. “Once the Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes its position clear on the issue, the UML will come up with its position on the issue,” Acharya said. “The ministry of foreign affairs should ask the ambassador to clarify what he meant.”

Similarly, Deputy General Secretary of the ruling CPN (Maoist Centre) Barsha Man Pun said that no foreign diplomat should comment on Nepal’s internal affairs. “The government should caution the diplomats who make comments on Nepal’s internal affairs,” Pun said at parliamentary committee meeting.

Pun added, “Who we do our trade with is our internal matter…the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should caution [the ambassador] or seek clarification from him. Let the ministry take the initiative.”

Meanwhile, Mahantha Thakur, chairman of the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party, said that the Chinese ambassador’s statement is objectionable.

“The Chinese envoy made a blunder as a third party cannot make a comment against [our] bilateral relations with any other third country,” Thakur said. “The Chinese ambassador’s statement is objectionable…this is a serious matter.”

Many other members of Parliament have joined the chorus in urging the government to seek clarification from Chen. “The government should summon the Chinese ambassador and caution him,” said Dhawal Sumsher Rana of the right-wing Rastriya Prajatantra Party. “The practice of making statements against a third country should be stopped.”

Rana said the government should hand over a note of objection to the ambassador for his statement. “If we don’t put an end to it now, it will become a tendency, and then others too will follow suit and we will reach a very difficult situation,” Rana added. “We should be aware of such situations and we should stop such tendencies right at the beginning. The ministry of foreign affairs should tell the ambassadors and the diplomatic missions not to make statements on a country's internal matter and make comments on a third country.”

Shisir Khanal of Rastriya Swatantra Party warned that Nepal would fall into a geopolitical quagmire if ambassadors keep on making comments on Nepal’s relations with other countries.

“We are in a sensitive geopolitical position. If ambassadors from different countries make remarks on our internal matters or about us or about our foreign relations and if we keep ignoring them, our country will head towards various geo-political complexities,” Khanal said. “That can cause damage. So the foreign ministry should send a diplomatic note immediately or alert them.”

Speaking at the meeting in Parliament, vice chairman of the Janamat Party Abdul Khan has demanded the Chinese ambassador be sent back.

“The Chinese ambassador does not have the right to make comments on Nepal-India relations so the government should seek clarification from the Chinese ambassador. Attempts are being made to create animosity between Nepal and India,” Khan said. “If Nepal is an independent country, then I strongly demand that the foreign ministry seek an explanation from the ambassador and immediately send him back.”

Chairman of the Aam Janata Party Prabhu Sah said that it is not necessary for China to talk about Nepal-India relations. “Nepal is a sovereign country, so it can conduct its foreign policy independently. Third countries should not speak in our matters,” Sah said. “I don’t think it is necessary for China to keep talking about the relationship between Nepal and India.”